Jaromir Jagr officially breaks Gordie Howe's record

Living legend Jaromir Jagr will suit up for his hometown Kladno Knights this evening and when he hits the ice he'll become the oldest "professional" player to play in a professional hockey league. 

At 52 years and 63 days old, Jagr will surpass Gordie Howe who finished his NHL career at 52 years and 11 days old.

From Czech hockey insider Zdenek Janda:

Now, it's important to note that Howe signed a one day contract with the old IHL's Detroit Vipers in 1997 and played one shift with the team at 69 years old. The thing is... it was entirely a publicity stunt. Howe played just a single shift for the Vipers so that he could boast having played in the six different decades (1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s). Again, I have nothing but respect for Howe and all of his accomplishments, but his signing with the Vipers was entirely ceremonial.

As for Jagr, well... he's slowing down as you might expect from a 52 year old. The big Czech has just four points in 15 games with Kladno this season and he looks to be having difficulty keeping up with the pace of play. He owns the team, so he essentially employs himself and he has gone on record saying that he only plays for the team to keep them afloat. Without Jagr's presence, interest in the team would like drop off so Jagr is doing everything he can to keep them relevant while his body will still allow it.

He's one of the greatest players in not only NHL history, but all of hockey history. He's of course, a member of Czech's history 1998 gold medal winning Olympic team, as well.

In total, Jagr has played 2,224 professional games split between the NHL, KHL and the Czech Extraliga. Along the way he has suited up for the... (deep breath)... Kladno Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins, Bolzano HC, Schalker Sharks, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Omsk Avangard, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames.

Tonight, Jagr will suit up in his 2,225th professional hockey game. Just... mindblowing.