Is Jagr worth it?
He’s 39 years old and hasn’t played in the NHL for 3 years. So why exactly are the Philadelphia Flyers paying Jaromir Jagr $3.3 million? Undoubtedly, Jagr has a career record to die for: 2 Stanley Cup’s, 5 Art Ross Trophy wins, Olympic Gold, multi All Star team appearances etc. However, he’s spent the last three years with Avangard Omsk in the KHL which many thought would be a swansong.
Flyers GM Paul Holmgren surprised many on July 1st with the signing of Jagr with a 1 year deal. Jagr had been flirting with the prospect of returning to the Pittsburgh Penguins where the majority of his best hockey was played. However, Ray Shero (Pens GM) had other ideas when Jagr seemed to be holding out over an alleged $2 million deal even though Jagr’s agent, Petr Svoboda, said he has “Pittsburgh in his heart”. Shero withdrew the deal and the Flyers pounced to continue the overhaul of their team.
What isn’t in question is that Jagr has experience in abundance. Not only experience of many seasons but of playoff hockey which seems to have been lacking at the Flyers. He will be dangerous on power plays as he always has been. His stature in the game will be both a positive and negative influence for the Flyers in 2011-12. Some players will be overawed by his legend status but others will feed off the “legend killer” tag they could get. Jagr must keep his fitness high to match the pace of the game but he is looking svelte rather than the mullet-look of the 1990’s.
So what else made Holmgren spend $1.3 million more on Jagr? The Flyers are going through a transition period and it appears Holmgren is willing to gamble 5% of the salary cap on a player who is on a downward curve of effectiveness. If it does pay off and Jagr gets 20 regular season goals in 2011-12, Holmgren will be justified in his decision and ready to mount a serious challenge for Lord Stanley’s Cup.
