Jagr discovers reason for big backside on milestone assist

PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech ice hockey great Jaromir Jagr said he discovered why he had been endowed with such a large posterior when he collected a milestone assist to put him second on the National Hockey League’s all-time points list on Thursday.

The Florida Panthers winger earned an assist in the third period against the Boston Bruins when a shot deflected off his backside before Aleksander Barkov shot it home.

“My whole life I have wondered why God gave me such a big butt and today, after almost 45 years, it dawned on me,” Jagr wrote in his native Czech in a post on his Facebook page.

“I thought I would score a goal or make a beautiful pass, but the reality was totally different. They hit my backside, and the puck bounced off to Barkov who scored.

“I was a bit ashamed of such an extraordinary point but, as they say, history doesn’t ask how but how many.”

The unscripted assist helped the 44-year-old reach 1,888 points to move past Hall of Famer Mark Messier.

He now trails only the ‘Great One’ Wayne Gretzky, who ended his career with a staggering tally of 2,857 points.

Jagr has played 1,663 games for eight NHL teams since being selected by the Penguins as the fifth overall pick in the 1990 draft. His points tally includes 755 goals and 1,133 assists.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Ken Ferris)