{"id":12690,"date":"2017-07-05T14:31:59","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T18:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=12690"},"modified":"2017-07-05T14:31:59","modified_gmt":"2017-07-05T18:31:59","slug":"team-jaromir-jagr-just-dont-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/07\/05\/team-jaromir-jagr-just-dont-know\/","title":{"rendered":"There is a Team Out There for Jaromir Jagr; They Just Don\u2019t Know it Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Last week, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/j\/jagrja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaromir Jagr<\/a><\/strong>, idol to us all, sent out this rather depressing tweet:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">FA 1994- all GMs  called , FA 2017- 0 calls\ud83c\udfc6\ud83d\ude00 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7uLJm95CAB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/7uLJm95CAB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/68Jagr\/status\/880561778068930560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 29, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On the left is a chiseled Jagr from 1994, before a fair few of today\u2019s NHLers were even born. Back then, Jagr had every team in the League in his ear, convincing him to come and play in their city.\u00a0On the right though, is a far different Jagr. The man on the right is a recently redundant 45-year old, wondering if there is any hockey team out there that may inquire about his availability for next season.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Still producing<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Despite scoring 16 goals, 30 assists and 46 points last season, Jagr was recently told by the Florida Panthers that he would not be re-signed this off-season.\u00a0A team that missed the playoffs was voluntarily forgoing their third\u00a0best points producer from the previous season, just one campaign removed from a stunning 66-point year.<\/p>\n<p>Even more spectacular about that 27 goal, 39 assist season was that Jagr turned 44 midway through it.\u00a0The Czech was in the midst of becoming the most productive 40+ year old in NHL history, even more so than <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/howego01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gordie Howe<\/a><\/strong>. Now, just one season later, Jagr had once again hit free agency, and his phone has not rung once.<\/p>\n<p>Despite annually forgoing father time, the old, presumably white-bearded fellow is still undefeated, and whilst Jagr may currently be winning this battle, the war at large looks like it may be winding down.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Direction of the League<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Jagr\u2019s joblessness is not a slight at the man himself. It\u2019s more a recognition of the direction in which the League is heading.\u00a0One of the NHL\u2019s best defensemen, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hjalmni01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Niklas Hjalmarsson<\/a><\/strong>, went through a similar epiphany a few weeks ago, when he was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks \u2013 a team with which he won three Stanley Cups.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/murphco02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor Murphy<\/a><\/strong>, Hjalmarsson\u2019s replacement, may never be as good as \u2018The Hammer\u2019, but in 2017, he is simply \u201cmore correct\u201d than him. He is younger, he\u2019s faster, and more modern than his predecessor.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Is there anybody out there?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>However, despite the sound of silence that besets Jagr, there is still a team(s) out there that could use him; nay, is in need of him. One of them he has already played for \u2013 the New York Rangers.\u00a0If you can remember back that far, Jagr played 4 seasons and 277 games for the Rangers between 2003 and 2008, racking up 319 points in the form of 124 goals and 195 assists.<\/p>\n<p>Off the back of a promising year, the Rangers have hit the ground running in free agency, picking up the top defenseman on the open market \u2013 <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/shattke01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Shattenkirk<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 and getting him on a very reasonable contract.\u00a0But the Rangers have lost production up front this month. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/stepade01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derek Stepan<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lindbos02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oscar Lindberg<\/a><\/strong> represent 75 missing points the team will need to replace, and Jagr represents a way they could replace anywhere up to 46 of them rather cheaply.<\/p>\n<p>Another area in which Jagr can assist his former team is in the Corsi department. Last year, the Rangers ranked 19<sup>th<\/sup> in 5-on-5 Corsi, one position above Florida, Jagr\u2019s most recent squad.\u00a0Whilst his skills are slowly declining, Jagr\u2019s strength and balance render him still a valuable asset for a team looking to improve puck protection.<\/p>\n<p>Puckalytics has him ranked 8<sup>th<\/sup> among forwards over the last decade in age-relative Corsi. Essentially, if you\u2019re looking for cheap experience, reliable production, and puck possession, you can\u2019t go wrong with Jagr.\u00a0If nothing else, Jagr could help the Rangers protect the puck, play on the power play, and pop up for a goal or assist every once in a while, especially in the playoffs, in which Jagr has been to 18 times.<\/p>\n<p>When looking at other teams that could do with a leg up in Jagr\u2019s area of expertise, you may notice the Winnipeg Jets. Last year, Winnipeg finished just seven points out of the playoffs, but finished 27<sup>th<\/sup> in Corsi for, and 18<sup>th<\/sup> in power play percentage.\u00a0Jagr remedies both these areas for a team strewn with young talent and looking to push towards the playoffs. Speaking of youth, the Jets are also the second\u00a0youngest team in the league. You\u2019re telling me they couldn\u2019t use Jagr?<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of age, who else ranks closer to the bottom in this department? The Arizona Coyotes are the youngest team in the NHL, with an average age of 25.8, but the Columbus Blue Jackets are the third\u00a0youngest, at 26.2.\u00a0Columbus made the playoffs last year, but was bounced in the first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins. They have talked of their willingness to add scoring this off-season, and did so by trading for <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/panarar01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Artemi Panarin<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Jagr, a full 20 years older than Panarin, is of course not the same level of impact scorer that the Blue Jackets would be after, but they did express a desire to add <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kovalil01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ilya Kovalchuk<\/a><\/strong>, who is definitely on the older side.\u00a0The Jackets have also long desired Colorado Avalanche centre <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/duchema01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Duchene<\/a><\/strong>. If talks fall through, Jagr, whilst not a centre, could potentially be a good contingency plan.\u00a0After all, Jagr\u2019s 46 points in 2016-17 better Duchene\u2019s 41, with Jagr having only played in 4 more games.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps every team in the league could use Jagr in some role. After all, 23 seasons of NHL experience is not exactly readily available skating around on every rink in the world.\u00a0Perhaps the Vegas Golden Knights could be a destination for Jagr. They tell us they\u2019ve reached their limit on season tickets, but Jagr is exciting, popular, and loved by hockey fans everywhere.\u00a0Or even the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team he spent 11 seasons with, for one last Stanley Cup hurrah.<\/p>\n<p>It is still early on in free agency, and it would be surprising if Jagr were not playing in the NHL next year. He\u2019s simply too experienced, too productive, and would not be after much at all.<\/p>\n<p>There is a team out there that Jaromir Jagr belongs on. They just don\u2019t know it yet.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/667030624\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 67.508418% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/667030624?et=I8LqcgMxQYF4oXIFM4UuHQ&amp;tld=ca&amp;viewMoreLink=on&amp;sig=RWy08AfkG6csYevlX_gl0ZpNldNJKGDvWJ5dyoq7ZoA=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"401\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Last week, Jaromir Jagr, idol to us all, sent out this rather depressing tweet: FA 1994- all GMs called , FA 2017- 0 calls\ud83c\udfc6\ud83d\ude00 pic.twitter.com\/7uLJm95CAB &mdash; Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) June 29, 2017 On the left is a chiseled Jagr from 1994, before a fair few of today\u2019s NHLers were even born. Back then, Jagr had [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2050,"featured_media":12715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[106,37,410,38,662],"class_list":["post-12690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-florida-panthers","tag-hockey","tag-jaromir-jagr","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-free-agency"],"modified_by":"Nic Hendrickson","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2050"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}