'Did anybody see my bubbleheads?' 18,000 bobbleheads of NHL legend Jaromir Jagr stolen in California cargo theft

California once again became synonymous with theft problems after a large shipment of bobbleheads belonging to the National Hockey League was stolen, the team announced.

After the shipment arrived in California, a case of cargo theft robbed the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins of a reported 18,000 bobbleheads meant to commemorate legendary Czech Republic-born player Jaromir Jagr.

The 52-year-old recently had his jersey number retired by the team; he spent 10 years on the squad winning two Stanley Cup championships. Jagr is second only to Wayne Gretzky in all-time points in the NHL, along with being fourth in all-time goals and fifth in all-time assists.

"The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that the shipment carrying the Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads for tonight’s game against the San Jose Sharks has been stolen after its arrival in California. As a result, the bobbleheads are not in Pittsburgh and will not be distributed at tonight’s game, but will be distributed at a later date," the team said in a press release.

"We were shocked to be a victim of cargo theft, and we are working closely with local and federal authorities on the investigation," said Penguins President of Business Operations Kevin Acklin. "While this unfortunate incident adds to the legend of Jaromir Jagr, who will be in attendance as our guest at tonight’s game, we look forward to resolving this theft and delivering the prized Jagr bobbleheads to their rightful homes, with our fans," Acklin added.

Jagr has become increasingly popular as he typically leans into jokes about his iconic 1990s mullet and has participated in numerous NHL events in the last year.

The former player joked on his X account that he is currently in search of his "bubbleheads."

"Did anybody see my bubbleheads?? 18000 of them. Actually, I got one, missing 17,999. Let me know. Thank you," Jagr wrote.

The Pittsburgh Penguins media team quickly put together a video that showed Jagr buckling into a car to start searching for the bobbleheads with one in his passenger seat. The video prompted conspiracies that the shipment theft had been a publicity stunt, with hosts on "The Pat McAfee Show" wondering if the story had been "a work."

"Was the theft a publicity stunt?" a fan asked the hockey team on Instagram.

"They were actually stolen, unfortunately," the team replied. "All fans in attendance will receive a voucher that includes a one-time scannable barcode that will be required to pick up the bobblehead at a later date," the team added.

Fans will be required to attend the game to get the bobblehead.

Jagr famously unretired from professional hockey in December 2022 to ensure a team in his home country did not receive a penalty for not having enough players.

After leaving the NHL in 2018, Jagr played in the Czech Republic's top league for the Kladno Knights, a team he is the majority owner of. The team was down to just 12 players due to illness and, after postponing the previous game, was in danger of facing league disciplinary actions should another game be postponed.

Jagr, who was seemingly retired not having played in any of the team's first 26 games, decided to suit up to avoid any penalties. He had two assists in just 15 minutes of ice time.