There has been a lot of noise over the last few days about the Calgary Flames and Jaromir Jagr working on a way to end their relationship.
The buzzword that's been going around is respect and Jagr seemingly feels as if he hasn't gotten the ice time, or been given the role he thinks he deserves, in Calgary, which seems odd to me.
The Flames haven't been spoon feeding him minutes – that was never realistic – but he's played a top-9 role in almost every game he has dressed and he's also seen some power play time.
I think that's completely fair with where he is at. Jagr was never going to get the ~17 minutes per game he played last season and, quite frankly, it doesn't seem like he can handle it anyway.
He's been fighting nagging injuries for much of the season and has missed quite a few games as a result. It's not like the Flames are going to throw a 45-year-old into the fire (no pun intended) and give him top-6 minutes when he's coming off an injury.
I don't think he's been mistreated or under utilized in any way, shape, or form. If and when he proved he could string together a few quality games without needing time off, perhaps he'd get a bigger role but that never happened.
Nevertheless, it appears a matter of not if, but when Jagr leaves is all that's to be decided.
In the short term I think it's a bit of a loss. With Michael Frolik out, I think Jagr is a better alternative in the top-6 than Troy Brouwer (although I'd love to see Andrew Mangiapane given a look there).
When Frolik returns, I don't think Jagr being out of the picture will be a big deal. Michael Ferland works very well with the big guns, Frolik is a key part of 3M, and Garnet Hathaway has been shockingly good on the 3rd line. Mangiapane looks like he could be ready for a decent sized role, too, so they have options.
I still think Jagr was a worthwhile gamble but, with the way things have shaped up, he is not really needed.
If Jagr wants to seek a job elsewhere – be it on a (likely) lesser NHL team or in Europe – so he can get a couple extra minutes every night, all the power to him. He's earned that right.