Before I get to my all star game thoughts I would like to congratulate Jaromir Jagr on a wonderful NHL career. He was placed on waivers by the Calgary Flames and today at noon he cleared them. It is expected that he will go back to the Czech Republic to play. If he is indeed finished with the NHL what a run it was. He is among the best to ever play the game from any era (probably played in more eras than he didn’t).
Watching Jagr and Mario Lemieux was a huge part of my hockey childhood and I’m forever grateful for that.
All good things must come to an end and in this case that includes Jagr’s NHL career and the annual fun that has been #JagrWatch
The Pittsburgh reunion never materialized and that’s OK. Nothing changes the overwhelming positive contributions he made to the organization or the NHL as a whole. He’s second in all-time points and third in all-time goals. He proved his worth right up until the end. Legend.
The current Penguins didn’t fare as well as some of the former ones in yesterday’s all star game(s). It was Marc-Andre Fleury and James Neal who will take home $100k after placing first in the 3v3 tournament. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang bowed out after only one game. It is the second consecutive year that the Atlantic disposed of the Metropolitan Division. Both Crosby and Letang were able to find the back of the net. In Crosby’s case he scored on a feed from Alexander Ovechkin and then returned the favor.
All in all it was a good weekend as far as the hockey related activities were concerned. As long as you have grounded expectations on what to expect going into the events then you can leave a satisfied customer. The change to 3v3 continues to pay dividends as the actual game action is much better. Guys can’t hide and coast like they used to. If you are expecting Stanley Cup Final level backchecking that’s on you. I mean Ovie on at least one occasion sprinted back to thwart an attack. What more do you want?
The next step for the NHL’s 3v3 tournament is to get rid of icing, offsides, and goaltenders ability to freeze the puck. This is strictly an entertainment exhibition at the end of the day.
Real hockey resumes Tuesday when the Sharks are in town to face the Penguins.
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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