Jagr wearing the West Point military jacket given to him by Brandon Pirri as the game MVP.
When Jaromir Jagr was traded to the Florida Panthers, it was an odd time. It was a few days before the trade deadline, the Panthers were playing a game that night(Thursday), and then had back to back games over the weekend against the Sabres and Lightning.
He arrived Friday evening.
He had no practice or any idea of who his linemates would be. He said he didn't even have time to look at himself in a new uniform in a mirror before was on the ice. Head coach Gerard Gallant paired him Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau on the top line. Both of their ages combined(21 and 19 respectively) are less than Jagr's ripe 43 years.
Immediately his presence was felt. He practically commanded Brandon Pirri to just shoot the puck. Shortly thereafter Pirri scored two power play goals within 1:23 of each other to tie the game 2-2. Those two goals provided the momentum for the Panthers to come storming back to a 5-3 victory. Jagr was providing traffic and screens in front of the net on both goals, but his celebration on Pirri's first goal was all that one needed to see. He was ecstatic he helped a young player achieve what everyone knows Pirri can do: score and score in bunches.
Jagr may not have scored, but it was obvious he attracts a crowd. Defenders and forwards were collapsing down low to take his space away, creating more space for other players.
Playing Tampa and their best offense in the league probably smelled like doom to a lot of Panthers fans. The Cats hadn't beaten the Bolts at home since the home opener in 2011. With Tampa rested and Gallant going with backup goaltender Al Montoya, it would take an "A game" effort to take down the Lightning.
The first 10 minutes looked like the Panthers played yesterday, being thoroughly outplayed. But from that point the Panthers played a very solid game and defeated Tampa despite their late flurry.
Most importantly, the scoring started with Jagr's first goal as a Panther, also ending his longest career scoreless draught of 9 games. Few ovations in recent memory were louder for a goal than Jagr's tally.
As important as it was for the Panthers to score the first goal of the game for the first time in 5 games, who scored it was just as important. He also added an assist on a goal scored by Aleksander Barkov and was +2 for the game.
After the game, Jagr was very clear scoring a goal is not as important as the overall result. He shrugged off his accomplishment as almost meaningless as long as they won the game. His humbleness and wisdom is going to be a huge asset to this locker room. Here is his post-game interview:
Dan Spiegel Florida Panthers Media