His separation from the national team would be the subject of a thick book. Jaromír Jágr announced his retirement from the national team after the Olympic gold in Nagano, then hinted at his retirement after the 2004 World Cup and two years later after winning bronze at the Olympic Games. Turin. He always ended up reconsidering his opinion. But May 25, 2014 came and it seemed that this time nothing and no one could move the best hockey player in Czech history.

Only a few tens of minutes had passed since the 0:3 defeat against the Swedes in the match for third place in the championship in Minsk, when Jágr, then 42, appeared in the mixing zone in front of Czech journalists and flatly confirmed what he had already indicated during the championship.

“I'm done with the Czech national team. I'm not sad about it. Life goes on, I'm not done with hockey, it would be worse,” he said, claiming to have missed the last chance to win another medal with the team with which he won gold not only at the Olympic Games in Nagano, but also at the 2005 World Championships in Vienna and five years later in Cologne.

He explained his decision by the difficulty for him to get used to the big European ice rinks after seasons spent abroad. He described hockey on the old continent as a “completely different sport”.

And another of the main reasons was the criticism of some hockey experts, which was addressed to the team at the World Championships in Minsk after unconvincing performances in the core group.

“I don't need my name out there, when he knows what the situation is. That would require a certain amount of respect. When someone expresses an opinion, they need to be sure that it makes sense. Because that it will affect a lot of other people. And I get annoyed at people who make up their minds and don't know anything about it. Don't be mad at me. I'm not pretending to be a genius here, but I play hockey for 25 years, so maybe I know more than them,” said the most productive European in NHL history.

When, a few minutes later, his teammate from the World Cup in Minsk, Jiří Novotný, also a gold medalist in 2010, visited the journalists, he did not believe that Jágr would really say goodbye to his birthday boy. “I hope he doesn't finish, because it would be a real shame for him,” Novotný said, recalling that Jágr was the team's most productive player during the tournament in the Belarusian capital with eight Canadian points.

But it really seemed like JJ68 wasn't flashing anything at all. Not even a petition against his end in the national team, which disappointed Czech hockey players who suddenly started signing.

“I just feel like it’s time to go. I'm no longer the player I used to be. At the moment I am not able to decide matches and help the team. I used to have this feeling no matter what. Now I am gradually losing my mind,” Jágr said, even with an interval of two days, upon his return from Minsk to Prague.

“When Jagr is mentioned, people expect him to decide matches. I expect the same from myself. But I feel like I don't have it anymore. Those days are over. I think this is the best path for me, for the fans and for all Czech hockey,” the legend said to the sky and refused to change his mind because of the home World Championship, which was to be played in Prague in a year.

“I'll only make Mexican waves in the audience. It's just that my time has come,” he added.

There didn't seem to be any trains passing by. Nevertheless, year after year, Jágr ends up no longer sitting among the audience at the O2 arena in Prague, but rolling around on the ice again. And even if it was ultimately just a “potato”, his teammate at the time, Jakub Voráček, will never forget Jágr's double in the quarter-finals against Finland.

“When I remember the feeling when Džegr scored the winner four minutes before the end at 3:3, I seriously thought that the O2 arena was going to collapse,” recalls the red-haired striker.

After the end of the national championship, Jágr announced his national team debut again. And this time, it really happened. His record in the national team (including that of Czechoslovakia), in which he made his debut in 1990, stopped at 152 matches and 55 hits.