NHL player gets teeth knocked out by stick, asks Santa for replacements

NHL player Jaromir Jagr asks Santa for new teeth in his Christmas wish Wednesday after the 43-year-old Florida Panthers veteran lost a handful of teeth after taking a high stick to the face during Tuesday night's 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Two days after Jagr took sole possession of fourth place on the NHL's all-time goals list, he took a high stick to the face during Tuesday's Panthers-Senators game, causing him missing four of his teeth.

Jagr tweeted a picture of his ruined mouth along with a request for new teeth from Santa Wednesday: "Dear Santa, can I get a new teeth for Christmas. It's going to be tough to eat good, at least I don't get fat."

Losing teeth is a horrifying experience for most people, Jagr proved it doesn't have to be a huge deal. Or even a deal at all. To his eternal credit, Jagr's first reaction was to look on the bright side - losing those teeth made him faster on the ice.

"I lost some...teeth, but I increased my speed, especially on breakaways," Jagr joked. "I don't want to hear anything about (how) I'm slow."

The future first-ballot Hall of Famer is a thrill to watch on the ice and a joker who doesn't take himself too seriously away from the rink. Endi