Jaromir Jagr: Be careful what you wish for
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Many folks are in favor of a return one-year appearance by Jaromir Jagr to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Longtime Penguins beat writer, Dejan Kovacevic, has written two columns in the last five days about the benefits of bringing Jagr back, one entitled
”Bring Back Jagr” and the other
"Pens, Jagr Must Give”.
Penguins coach Dan Bylsma has voiced his approval, using the words “intriguing” and “power play” in every other sentence while talking about Jagr, according to Kovacevic.
Mario Lemieux has reached out to his former linemate with phone calls.
Said the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Rossi via Twitter, “Lemieux was encouraged by chat with Jagr, but not completely convinced money isn't big factor in Jagr's mind.”
Lemieux feels the Pens should at do their due diligence and at least pursue Jagr.
Apparently the only decision maker in the Pittsburgh organization who remains not sold on the right winger is GM Ray Shero.
"We have some interest," Shero said Saturday. "We've talked to the agent, and we've talked to Jaromir. We want to find out what we have to offer and what his motivation is to get back to the National Hockey League versus going back to Russia.”
A nice aspect about potential Jagr return is that the organization isn’t doing it to sell tickets. CONSOL saw a few empty seats after Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin got hurt last year, but its string of 150-plus consecutive sellouts remains impressive.
Various reasons have been supplied why the team should or shouldn’t re-sign Jagr.
Pro --He’s played well in recent competition, netting a hat trick against the United States in the World Championships a couple months ago.
Con – He’s 39 years of age and his best days are behind him.
Pro – The Penguins’ power play could use any help it can get.
Con – The locker room chemistry with Jagr in it remains a question mark until Jagr is actually in it.
Pro – Jagr sounds as though Pittsburgh is his first choice.
Con – It remains to be seen how he would fit into Pittsburgh’s system.
A complete list of Pro’s and Con’s could run several pages long, alone. But there are a couple of issues that haven’t been discussed enough.
First, the signing of Jaromir Jagr can’t be done in a vacuum. Does the variable of a Sidney Crosby return increase or decrease the likelihood of a Jagr return?
One could make an argument that without Crosby coming back, the need for a solid power-play producer becomes more important. That’s probable a reasonable statement.
Provided Crosby does come back, having Jagr around keeps opponents honest to the point where they can’t shadow or double team Crosby.
But even though it’s reasonable to believe GM Shero might sign Jagr if he has questions about Crosby returning, it’s still something he probably doesn’t want to do. He may want to take a wait-and-see attitude with the team and how it performs in the regular season after getting Evgeni Malkin and Crosby back.
The Penguins like to keep salaries at least several million dollars below the cap at the start of the season. GM Shero typically likes to save some of his bullets for in-season trading. The acquisition of Jagr – provided the team also resigns the likes of Pascal Dupuis, Mike Rupp and perhaps Tyler Kennedy – means that the team will be close to the salary cap ceiling.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to see where the team stands after the first couple months and then pursue its specific needs?
While having Jagr on the power play would improve it, having Malkin back and perhaps Crosby gives the team a chance to access its strengths and weaknesses during the season without falling out of the playoff race. They buy the team time to help determines its strengths and weaknesses. The team did convert at a 20.5 clip with no. 87 and no.71 on the power play.
Wouldn’t it be more advantageous for the team to have several million dollars of cap space for GM Shero to pursue specific needs midway through the season than to have him use most of his gun powder in the preseason by signing Jagr? Hasn’t Shero earned that right?
Having a healthy Malkin and Chris Kunitz, a full season out of James Neal, and a possible comeback by Crosby outweigh the benefit of anything Jaromir Jagr might provide.
Passing on Jagr isn’t about worrying about chemistry or attitude, it’s not about Jagr’s past bouts of a prima donna nature.
No, it’s about looking to the future. To January and February, when teams are looking to unload star players and shed salary.
The decision to forego Jagr gives GM Shero the leeway to swing a trade or two closer to the deadline when the Pens know exactly what they need most.
Shero has shown the ability to make astute trades based upon specific needs throughout his tenure. Not all of his moves have worked out, but give the guy some credit. Don’t take the bullets out of his gun by signing Jagr in July.
Wimpy once said … “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Penguins fans deserve better than a second helping of Jaromir Jagr.
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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports on his time spent talking with coach Dan Bylsma about the power play over the weekend
here.
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What are we to make of the Pens taking two defensemen with their only two picks of the first four draft rounds? It’s apparent the organization went with the “best player available” mentality over need, but don’t the Pens need some skilled forwards to staff squads in Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling? Don’t get me wrong. Having Crosby and Malkin on the roster can cure plenty of shortcomings and allow for taking chances in other areas, but the team is lacking in offensive forwards. Guys like Keven Veilleux have proved to be a disappointment.
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Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports
here that the Penguins have until the end of Monday to offer Tyler Kennedy a qualifying offer and have yet to do so.
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Have a great Monday everybody!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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