Once upon a time, Jaromir Jagr was one of the most electrifying and prolific scorers in the NHL. He was a former Stanley Cup champion, five time scoring champion and league MVP in 1999. Then in 2008 he left the NHL for an opportunity to play in the Kontinental Hockey League, the old Russian Super League that was handing out large contracts like it was candy on Halloween. In his last NHL season with the New York Rangers he played in 82 games getting himself 25 goals, 46 assists and 71 points.
Now ever since 2009, Jagr has hinted that at some point he would like to return to the NHL. He stated that one of the reasons why he originally left was that he needed a break from the NHL’s 82 game schedule and the pressures that came with it. Over the past week, the talk of Jagr’s return really started to gain momentum as his agent Petr Svoboda and Jagr himself has said that the interest is there and that they’ve talked to three NHL teams, the Penguins, Canadiens and Red Wings about a return. In fact, Red Wings GM Ken Holland confirmed the Wings’ interest in the former MVP.
But would signing another aging superstar truly be beneficial for the Red Wings?
The Wings weren’t as successful in employing a veteran superstar last season when they signed forward Mike Modano to a one-year contract. However this was really do to a freak accident on the ice in which Modano suffered a lacerated wrist early in the season and was never really able to get his game back to where would’ve liked to be after that.
For the most part though you could say that the majority of aging veterans the Wings have acquired throughout the years have worked out. Back in 2002, aging veterans were a big part of their Stanley Cup run when they employed players such as Dominik Hasek, Brett Hull, Luc Robitille and Igor Larionov. This also worked out for them when they won the Cup again in 2008 when Dallas Drake played a nice role on the team.
There is no reason to believe that Jagr won’t have that same success on a team that has a good history of integrating old superstars into the lineup. And for what it’s worth, it seems like Jagr can still play at a pretty high level. Last season playing with Avangard Omsk of the KHL he had 19 goals, 31 assists and 50 points in 49 games played.
Now the Wings could see a drawback to Jagr playing in the KHL the past three seasons. The talent level in the KHL isn’t at the level that the NHL is. Furthermore the pressures involved with playing in the NHL exceed that of the KHL, again Jagr can attest to that. Plus when Jiri Hudler came back to the Wings after playing a season in the KHL, he wasn’t quite the same player. However Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News writes that a comparison between Jaromir Jagr and Hudler really isn’t that fair. Hudler throughout his career has been 3rd or 4th line forward while Jagr is a former NHL scoring champ and MVP. With that alone Wojnowski says that Jagr’s talents are too hard to ignore.
Of course there are some other drawbacks. What about some of the other up and coming players like a Jan Mursak, Cory Emmerton or Tomas Tatar who could be competing for spots on the roster? Well one of those players will contend for Kris Drapers spot on the roster since at this point it doesn’t look like Holland will be bringing Draper back. Also it really isn’t the Wings’ style to bring up an abundance of Grand Rapids talent and simply hand them roster spots. This is something they’re going to have to work for in training camp, in pre-season and in the AHL.
Also, what about some of their own unrestricted free agents like Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller?
There is a good chance that the Wings bring back at least one of those players however you can bet that one will test the market to try to get themselves a better deal. This is another area in which the Wings could fill the roster spot with a player like Mursak or Tatar or they could fill that spot with Jagr. With that said, Red Wings fans need to ask themselves, who would they want to see playing on a forward line, Patrick Eaves/Drew Miller or Jaromir Jagr?
Of course the Wings are only going to be interested in Jagr if the price is right. Jagr and his agent have named the Penguins and Canadiens as other potential landing spots for the former NHL star. Now naming other teams publicly is a tool to gain leverage in negotiating a contract however you can make a good assumption that Ken Holland and the Red Wings will not get into any type of bidding war with Pittsburgh of Montreal for Jagr’s services. If Jagr can be had for one year at $1.5 to $2 million the Wings would absolutely jump at the opportunity. Jagr would also have to be open to the possibility of playing on the third line if need be.
Going into this off-season the Wings top priority is getting defensive help to offset the sudden retirement of Brian Rafalski and the uncertainty of Nicklas Listrom returning to the team (even though there is a good chance he does come back). However the Wings also need another scoring threat and Jagr just might be that option. With $6 million of Rafalski’s salary coming off the books, the Wings will have some options cap wise to explore to possibility of bringing Jagr aboard. And it’s something they definitely should explore.
Source: Detroit News
