The Case of the Missing Bobbleheads

The Pittsburgh Penguins were scheduled to have a promotional giveaway for NHL legend Jaromir Jagr involving bobbleheads that would commemorate his iconic salute. What was supposed to be a giveaway night quickly turned into the night of stolen bobbleheads (and cool promotional videos.)

The giveaway was scheduled for a home game against the San Jose Sharks back on March 14, following Jagr’s jersey retirement ceremony. Earlier in the day, it was announced that the shipment containing the bobbleheads was stolen. The team noticed that the shipment was first stolen when the delivery did not come in time as scheduled before the game.

Courtesy of The Athletic

How they were stolen seems to be the most interesting part of this story. The President of Business Operations, Kevin Acklin, was perplexed to learn that they had been stolen by a group of extortionists. Originally, Acklin believed that the truck carrying the shipment was having engine troubles, and would be delivered to Pittsburgh the next day.

When the time came, there was still no delivery. Acklin then received a call from the trucking company, where he was informed that the bobbleheads were stolen. According to Acklin, the truck with the bobbleheads went to the warehouse, where the thieves had provided false paperwork and made off with the bobbleheads shortly after. 

The team handled this quite well, even having Jagr himself star in a video that showed him “on the case” to find the missing bobbleheads. The video instantly began circling around the internet, with many fans taking a great liking to Jagr’s video, and finding the humor in a disappointing situation (and season) for the team.

Courtesy of The Pittsburgh Penguins

To resolve the situation, the team announced that it would allow fans to receive a bobblehead voucher that night of the 14th, which will be redeemed on April 6 and April 7. The bobbleheads are reportedly arriving by those dates, giving fans the chance to claim the gift they were promised prior. The saga was definitely a mess, but the team, as well as Jagr turned a bad situation into something that fans can look back on and laugh at, and still be able to walk away with their bobbleheads when all is said and done.

Courtesy of Jeanine Leech/Getty Images

Edited by: Jessi Dworkin

Social Media Content Created by: Audrey Pearsall