Despite Hat Trick I Say No to Jagr
Jaromir Jagr's domination of Team USA during the Czech Republic's 4-0 win in a World Championship of Hockey quarterfinal match today was a nice little trip down memory lane for Rangers fans. It gave us time to celebrate a player that helped bring the Blueshirts back to respectability.But let's be honest folks, Jagr is 39 years old, and while he may look great during a two week tournament, I've got to question how his body would hold up during an 82 game NHL schedule. His goal total in the KHL has dropped every year (25 to 22 to 19) and if you remember in his final year with the Rangers (three years ago) he scored just 25 goals. I think the Rangers have enough 20 goal scorers, don't you.
I hate to break it to everyone, but the Rangers are still 2-3 years from being a legitimate Cup contender, with Brad Richards or without him. They have a young roster that needs to mature and taking precious ice time away from players such as Stepan, AA, MZA and possibly Hagelin and Grachev to get Jagr some reps on the power play flies in the face of the commitment to youth Tortorella has been preaching.
The goal here is to win a Stanley Cup. Not make the playoffs. And what does a one-year contract for Jagr do for that goal? Not much. I would rather put more responsibility on the Rangers young core and see if they have what it takes to take this franchise to the next level.
I'm also pretty convinced Torts wouldn't be too excited about seeing Jagr taking shifts off. Does anyone really think Jagr will be blocking shots ala Ryan Callahan? Although if he stuck that huge rear end out he could probably block a shot from anywhere on the ice.
I really don't want to be a downer and having Jagr on the Rangers would be great for nostalgia, but so was bringing Mark Messier back from Vancouver and how did that work out for the Blueshirts.
Would love to hear everyone elses thoughts on this.
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I know somebody who played with Jagr back in Czech club. Hladno or something. They said he would never show up to practice, but when it game to game time... 3 goals was an average haha
Except its also my point. He relies too much on his talent. Hes having a great tournament because its for his country, he has so much passion and so much fire in his eyes. He wants this gold... In a 82 game season... i cnt see him making a huge impact. He probably will end up with max 60 points, and thats probably on a good playoff bound team like the PENS.
Plus he said he would take a league min with them. He better sign for league min or they wont be able to get him.
But as a hockey fan, i do love the 90's knight in shining gold and black armor. I want to watch him again on a weekly basis. Not a summer standard
Watching the re-broadcast now on Versus. I love Jags and all, but he clearly benefits from the larger, European-sized rink. At his age and with his style he'd get smothered in the smaller NHL-size rink.
Remember Ovechicken completely demolishing Jagr in the neutral zone during the Olympics? I do, and it is a sight I do not wish to see repeated on a regular basis during the '11-'12 season. Thanks for the memories, but no thanks. and Potvin Sucks.
I agree.. that they are at last 2 years away...Rangers need one star....they have the young guys..they just need a leader ..and scorer. Who is even available that could fill that need..do not think it is Jagr..but who; what free agent would be available that could be a difference maker?
@scimoon1 Nope. Were just going to have to get lucky this year. Hopefully we rip the C right off of Drury and pray Callahan can do something. callahan reminds me of Steve Yzerman minus the goal scoring a bit. But that's not saying i'd be surprised to see cally score 40 goals in a year.
The only way i'd say yes is if we're in the top 3 in the eastern conference come february, but our PP is at 15%. Then i'd sign him for the rest of the season.
Correction...should have said, "Would prefer Dru to stay around as opposed to bringing Jagr back if we needed an older guy."
I think we stay away as it goes against the grain of where we are heading. Would prefer Dru to stay around to be honest. Plus, my feeling has always been that Jags would not accept a smaller role on a team...he has to be THE guy.
And to complete your thought, if I may be so bold, Dru would, in fact, accept that smaller role. @CraiginCanada
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If it were possible to agree 1000% I would. It goes against what the team is trying to do, which is promote within and grow as a club through player development. By His own admission he sees himself as a possible 2nd liner. That alone spells him out, as we already have our top 2 RW in Callahan and Gaborik. Torts is arguably the worst possible coach for a player like Jagr, or you could go vice versa with that assesment. Either way, the two would mix worse than Torts and Brooksie do.
I do hope he comes back to the NHL for a season or two, would be nice to see him back in North America, but the reality is we really do not have a spot for him without hindering the current process and system in place now. It just doesn't fit.
@KevinDeLury @ChrisGibson Also, it seems many have easily forgotten how he would slip into what seemed to be self-indulgent fits of despair and totally disappeared whenever the team went down by a goal or two. One thing that I really appreciated about the team this year is that they were almost never out of a game until the very end. Down by 2, 3, it didn't matter. It almost made them play with more passion. I can't see Jagr adding anything positive to that aspect of this team.
