Jaromir Jagr is adding yet another team to his HockeyDB page and another member to the Traveling Jagrs. The Mulletted One is heading to the Calgary Flames on a one-year deal worth $1 million.
An additional $1 million can be earned in bonuses and incentives.
If indeed Jagr deal gets done in Calgary, am told it's for $1 million base salary plus another $1 million in attainable bonuses
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 2, 2017
Several firsts are being accomplished here. This will be the first Canadian team that Jagr will have signed with. Plus, this could be his first full-season in the Western Conference provided he is not moved at the deadline (again). He signed with the Dallas Stars in the summer of 2012, but played just 34 games before getting shipped off to Boston in a season shortened by the lockout. He registered 14 points and 12 assists in his brief Texan stint.
The lessened burden of travel has kept Jagr’s interests primarily in the Eastern Conference, as he stated when he signed with the New Jersey Devils in 2013. Seems the arid market has finally forced him west.
Jagr has always expressed an interest in playing in Canada. He admitted in a conference call that his first call in the 2012 offseason was to the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens. After they declined, the Stars snatched him up.
When the New York Rangers grew impatient with Jagr during contract negotiations in 2008, they elected to sign Markus Naslund, essentially ending all hope of a New York reunion (great call, Rangers). When Jagr hit the open market, he received what he described as a “great offer” from the Edmonton Oilers for one year. He of course decided to sign with Russia, but had great appreciation for the interest and even vowed to give Edmonton and the other teams that had wanted him first crack when he returned to the NHL.
Pittsburgh had made an offer in 2008 and reportedly again in 2011 when Jagr returned to the NHL, and both times were spurned in favor of Russia and the Flyers, respectively. Ouch.
Since his NHL return, Jagr has played for Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, New Jersey and Florida.
All this from the man who once told the The Canadian Press he “hates making changes.”
The Flames logo is basically the Jaromir Jagr of NHL logos. pic.twitter.com/uesHqDZNJq
— Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey) October 2, 2017
Jaromir Jagr is one of the best of all time. He’s also a mercenary. To make an obscure reference to the stage adaptation of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Whoever pays the most I call my liege.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It simply means that he could have signed with any of the 31 NHL teams, or any other team in the world for that matter, and it would hardly come as a shock.
Jagr gonna Jagr.
That said, he’s a hired gun that anyone would be excited to have on their team. He’s a legend with a Herculean work ethic and quirky personality that endears him to any NHL fanbase.
What exactly should Flames fans be excited about, apart from the name?
Jagr provides a scoring threat that could slot in anywhere in the lineup. Want to put him on the top line with Monahan and Gaudreau? Fine, it takes the pressure off of Micheal Ferland to be a top line scorer.
Second line with Mikael Backlund? Dig it. It could slide Michael Frolik, already a strong two-way player who had solid possession numbers despite starting in the defensive zone two-thirds of the time last season, to the third line. That would go a long way towards shoring up a bottom six that will be littered with kids like Curtis Lazar, Sam Bennett and Freddie Hamilton.
That would then shift Kris Versteeg to the left wing on the third line, Troy Brouwer to the fourth line, and Tanner Glass to the bus station, with any luck.
Plus, at his cap hit, there’s no shame in sticking him on the third line with Versteeg and Sam Bennett. Jagr adds a skill element to a gritty third line that can score. He’s the perfect complement.
It’s hard to believe that there are 30 other NHL teams who turned their backs on Jaromir Jagr when the price tag wound up being so low. Granted, I’m sure he was not exactly asking for only $1 million out of the gate, but the Flames had over $3 million in cap space before the deal. They theoretically could have given more.
You’re telling me no one could have used 16 goals and 30 assists like he had last year? With a 55.4% Corsi-for to boot? No one? For only $1 million?
Come January, there will be several competing teams who will be kicking themselves that they did not at least make an offer to someone of Jagr’s caliber.
Unless there’s something really bad going on behind the scenes with Jagr, which there has been absolutely no indication of, it seems the Flames hit the PR lottery and got a strong presence up front. It may take a little while for Jagr to truly get going and into proper playing shape, but who cares? This is a move to help scoring depth down the line more than it is to get more points in the months of November and December. Very rarely is a signing of a 40-something year old guy a play for the long game, but in this case it is.
The long game being the prize at the end of the tunnel. So the pressure really should be off Jaromir Jagr. Give him time to grow into the system, get acclimated to his surroundings, and build into his role. This is his first time in Canada, after all, and he’s playing with kids half his age. Temper the expectations.
Let the dude be who he is. If nothing else, there are going to be a lot of red and black Jagr 68 jerseys in and around Calgary now, and signings like that don’t come every day. Soak it all in.
The good news is that Jaromir Jagr is staying in the National Hockey League for at least one more year.
The great news is that Jaromir Jagr can give a scoring boost to a team looking to make a run at a wide-open Pacific Division.
