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Jaromir Jagr is a 41-year-old former superstar. He is currently a right wing for the New Jersey Devils. What else is he? Is he a savior? Is he a bust signing? What can the Devils expect from Jagr in 2013-14?
It seems like in Jagr’s old age, he has become more versatile of a player. He will give a team exactly what they need, and last year showed that more than anything. He spent the season playing with the Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins, two teams in opposite situations. The Stars needed Jagr to score goals and help with the development of Jamie Benn. On the Bruins, they just needed him to be a complimentary player, which he did a very good job of being. The talk everyone speaks of is Jagr blew it in the playoffs, which just isn’t true. He was essential in parts of the game that don’t appear on a stats sheet. It was alarming that he missed quite a few open nets, but it isn’t like this guy needs to work hard on his goal scoring.
So what should Devils fans expect? It all depends on who he gets paired with. He did wonders working on the Philadelphia Flyers’ Claude Giroux; he could do the same helping out the Devils young superstar-to-be Adam Henrique. He could be paired with Patrik Elias and become a serious scoring pair. He could be paired with Ryane Clowe and Travis Zajac to become a legit top pairing. There is so much this guy can do for this team.
To be honest, I think the Devils saw what happened last season and brought in Jagr because they felt like he was a win-win proposition. If the team has a good season, then there is a good guess that Jagr had a hand in making it happen. If the season doesn’t go as planned, then they could trade him to a team trying to get over the hump and they could get a pick, maybe even the first round one they lost due to Ilya Kovalchuk‘s contract, that they sorely need. The Stars got a second-round pick and two prospects for him, so a first-round pick wouldn’t be too much to ask for.
Jagr is going to bring a scoring punch to a team that sorely needs it. He is going to bring extra leadership to a team that is looking to surprise the league. He is looking to help in the development of the team’s up-and-coming players who could always use to learn from a future Hall-of-Famer. Most of all, he is looking to help this team win. No matter what you hear, Jagr came here because the Devils are still looking to make noise in the Metropolitan Division. He came here to win another ring. How realistic a proposition that is will be another story, but Jagr is all in with this team.
