NHL analyst shocked at Jaromir Jagr's No. 5 ranking on post-expansion Top 99 NHL players list over Alex Ovechkin, other greats

NHL analysts were surprised to see Jaromir Jagr ranked fifth — just ahead of Alex Ovechkin — on The Athletic’s post-expansion Top 99 NHL Players of All-Time list released last year.

Jagr, who spent an incredible 24 seasons in the NHL, landed at No. 5 on the all-time list — one spot ahead of Alex Ovechkin but well above Connor McDavid, at No. 16. The ranking sparked debate, with analysts questioning whether Jagr should have been slotted ahead of today’s top-tier stars.

On TSN's FanDuel Overdrive,experts discussed the merits of Jagr's lofty placement on the list. Bryan Hayes expressed his disbelief:

"Jagr at 5? Jaromir Jagr is not the 5th greatest player ever." (1:31:07).

Jonas Siegel chimed in, asking the pertinent question:

"Is he a better player than Ovechkin?" to which Hayes responded, "No. I don't think he was."

Former NHL defenseman Jason Strudwick had the privilege of playing alongside Jagr. He acknowledged Jagr's incredible talent:

"I played with him. He's incredible. If you look at some of the time he missed, he went away to Russia for three years, before he came back again. You start putting in, 30 goals conservatively, that's almost a 100 goals (more) than he has, and that puts him further up the list."

Siegel added:

"His peak was higher than Ovechkin too."

Jagr had an incredible career, racking up 766 goals and 1,921 points over 1,733 games, winning two Stanley Cups, five Art Ross Trophies, three Ted Lindsay Awards and a Hart Trophy.

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Jason Strudwick’s take on Top 99 NHL players rankings

Jason Strudwick acknowledged the difficulty in selecting the best players, likening it to choosing a favorite. Strudwick explained that when discussing the elite of the sport, emotions often come into play.

“When you're talking about the best of the best, you have emotional moments. We remember this player did this or this player did that in a singular moment. ... That's how it becomes hard, because like remember when this guy did this or this guy did that,” Strudwick said. (1:32:50)

Strudwick pointed out that the real challenge is judging a player’s full body of work without letting standout moments or highlight-reel plays cloud the bigger picture.

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Edited by Bhargav