Jaromír Jágr, who was 33 years old at the time, revitalized his career and became the face of the New York Rangers resurgence in 2005-06.
The NHL had just returned from the 2004–05 lockout, introducing new rules to open up the game and the Rangers themselves were coming off a whopping seven-year playoff drought, with low expectations continuing as they headed into 2005–06. But then, Jágr carried a team that wasn’t expected to contend and turned them into a playoff squad.
He did so while setting the franchise's single-season point record with 123 across 54 goals and 69 assists — a record that still holds up to the year 2025.
Jaromir Jágr, a record-setting Ranger
Playing primarily alongside Martin Straka and Michael Nylander, a trio that would stay together for the majority of two years, Jágr tallied a 12-game point streak from the fourth game of the regular season through early November in which he registered 12 goals and seven assists for 19 points.
Near the end of the month, he then went on to record four consecutive multi-point games, leading the Blueshirts to wins in each contest as the team began a six-game winning streak. By the end of the month, the Rangers were already in first place in the Atlantic Division.
On this day, Jaromir Jagr was named the winner of the Lester B. Pearson Award as the "most outstanding player" in the NHL for the 2005-06 season, as voted by members of the NHLPA.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) June 22, 2025
Read more about Jagr's record-breaking season: https://t.co/q2zPpxpJmO pic.twitter.com/uMVoJEIpv0
“We had lots of time to plan for that season,” recalled Don Maloney according to NHL.com, who at that time was the Rangers’ vice president of player personnel and assistant general manager. “We knew we had Jágr as a star, so we had to get players who could play with Jágr.”
By the time the year concluded, the 6'3" and 230-pound phenom had recorded the previously mentioned 123 points — including 24 power play goals and 52 power play points.
This record has since held up for nearly two decades, showing just how special that season was.
And it wasn't just his statistics.
Jágr carried a team that wasn’t expected to contend and turned them into a playoff squad. Many fans would even go as far to say it was the rebirth of the franchise, as Madison Square Garden found its peak energy once again.