The Old Guys (Jagr, Khabibulin, Brashear, Kovalchuk) Are Taking Over In The World Of Hockey...And It's Awesome

Is hockey suddenly becoming an old man's game?

One of my favorite phenomenons over the last year or two has been retired NFLers offering to come out of retirement. Most of these guys have been out of the league for years, and despite all the offers, no one has really done it.

However, hockey guys? They're playing well into their 40s and beyond, with some even coming back to the game after a few years on the figurative — and sometimes literal — beach.

And that's if they've ever left at all.

For years, hockey has become more and more of a young man's game. Players like Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard, and many more have joined the NHL ranks as soon as they were old enough. At the same time, the game grew faster. This meant father time started making it harder to keep up as players' ages crept toward the big 4-0. Sometimes before the not-quite-as-big 3-5.

Gone were the days of guys like Gordie Howe playing pro hockey for more than 20 years... or so we thought. Someone didn't tell these guys.

For instance, 51-year-old hockey legend Jaromir Jagr hasn't played in the NHL for a few years, but he kicked off his 36th professional hockey season.

Thirty. Sixth.

And don't think for a second that he's just taking it easy. Through 2 games he already has an assist and 4 PIMs, he's still very much involved.

Now, Jagr has always taken good care of himself and wasn't one to take too many punches. At least not the way someone like, oh, say Donald Brashear did.

What's that?....

....

Donald Brashear is still playing professional hockey?

That's right. At 51 years old — and after a few seasons away — Brashear is still playing for the Jonquiere Marquis in the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. When you consider how much Brashear's body has gone through over the years — 2634 PIMs many of them from 5-minute fighting majors and a stick to the head courtesy of Marty McSorely — it's amazing he's still kicking.

And then there's the most recent returnee, whose foray back into pro hockey was just announced this week...

Guys, the Bulin Wall is back.

That's right, Nikolai Khabibulin — who backstopped the 2003-2004 Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup — is returning. Hejust signed a one-year deal with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL. The 50-year-old hasn't played pro puck in a decade and had been coaching the team's goalie up until now. Now he's going back into action against players who could very well be his sons.

Just wild, and I'm here for every single second of it. These guys were all absolute legends in their own rights had they hung it up 15 years ago. But nope, they're still giving it everything they've got.

So, so cool to see.

Follow on X: @Matt_Reigle