Jaromir Jagr attributes Oilers legend Paul Coffey for pushing his fitness to another level

Pittsburgh Penguins legend Jaromir Jagr revealed some interesting information about Edmonton Oilers icon Paul Coffey on Friday during the event “An Evening With Jaromir Jagr” as part of Pittsburgh’s Celebrate 68 weekend. 

Jagr is no name that is unfamiliar in the sport of hockey. From his luscious mullet to his ability to control the game with the puck in his possession, Jagr left an undeniable mark on the sport throughout his 24 years in the NHL.

However, time has passed, and Jagr, now 52, still remains as physically fit as ever. To emphasize, he’s still playing professional hockey for Rytiri Klando in Czechia Extraliga, where he serves as the team’s owner and president.

During the event on Friday, Jagr revealed that he credits Coffey for pushing his fitness to the next level when the two were teammates for the first two years of Jagr’s career in Pittsburgh (1990-91 and 1991-92).

Before Jagr joined the NHL, he was already working out — as to be expected of any professional athlete — revealing in previous interviews that at a young age, he would do 1,000 squats a day and 300 pushups. Still, he was not ready for what Coffey had in store, “I thought I was working hard, but he showed me another level,” he said.

Coffey’s “training” was simple yet challenging for 18-year-old Jagr. 

“He took me to the gym, and he said listen, from now on, you’re gonna do the bike, you’re going to do sprints,” Jagr said. “One minute on, one minute off. It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life.”