Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Flyers may have some cause for concern over Jaromir Jagr signing with the New Jersey Devils, but they can also breathe a sigh of relief.
It was reported last week that a Czech newspaper was claiming that one of the teams that Jagr was looking to sign with was the Flyers. Having to read the Google-translated page, it was hard to decipher just where this information was coming from. A lot of fans were hoping this would happen, but again, the salary cap was what was really preventing the Flyers from signing him.
The salary cap is the reason why the Flyers have yet to re-sign Simon Gagne, as well, if they do re-sign him at all. If the Flyers really wanted to get Jagr back, someone else would have to be let go. Since they just re-signed Sean Couturier, the Flyers are likely to keep him, so that means Matt Read would be on the chopping block along with some draft picks. Maybe the Flyers would also try to use this as their opportunity to get rid of a weak defenseman like Bruno Gervais.
Even if the Flyers did this in an attempt to get Jagr back, it wouldn’t really be in their best interest. Jagr was great when he was with the Flyers and it’s clear they are missing him on the line with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell, but last season he started to decline.
He did okay splitting time between the Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins this season, but not to the effects that was expected of him. He did have some key moments and he definitely is still a good player, but his age is starting to show. Jagr is not the player he once was, so he certainly is not worth the money the Flyers would have needed to shell out in order to get him. At this point, the moves they have already made are good and they didn’t need to acquire Jagr in a panic move.
Jagr’s time with the team did wonders, but that time is past and the eccentric player appears to like bouncing from team to team.
Deanna Vasso is a Flyers writer for www.rantsports.com, you can follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook and join her Google network.
