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After lots of speculation and two years worth of rumors, Jaromir Jagr was traded away from the New Jersey Devils. He was sent to the Florida Panthers in exchange for two future draft picks.
There is no doubt that Jagr brings something to the table for many teams in the league. Whether the Panthers are the right team for him is something that is yet to be seen. The prevailing fact for Jagr was that the Devils were no longer the right team for him.
Last season, Jagr was a match made in heaven in New Jersey. He seemed to love the area and the community. He had nothing but nice things to say about the entire organization. He had a great relationship with Peter DeBoer and Lou Lamoriello. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly. It worked out so well that he signed for another year despite the team missing the playoffs the year prior. Then 2014-15 was a disaster.
Instead of being the happy-go-lucky veteran that Devils fans were used to last year, this season it seemed like Jagr was much more negative. He said things to the media that made many scratch their heads. He said he did not want to ask to be traded because of his respect for Lamoriello, which just sounds like he wants to be traded. He outright criticized things the team did. The coach he came to play for was fired mid-season. There was just not much left for Jagr to do in New Jersey, and he made that known.
By the end of his tenure, Jagr was playing the same amount of minutes as third and fourth line players. He was only getting about 12-14 minutes of ice time. Even though he is 43 years old, he felt he could provide much more than that.
Jagr brought two possible assets to the Devils. He was able to play with his Czech teammates for a few years. It was time for both parties to move on. This clearly was a good move for everyone.
Nick Villano is the New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports. He also adds to the site’s NBA, MLB and NFL content. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your Google circle.
