The Panthers acquired All-Everything though admittedly aging forward Jaromir Jagr Thursday. No really, they did. Let that sink in for a moment. Old-timers like myself Get It. I’m personally over the moon on this, as are most of the vocal folks on social media since the deal was announced a couple of hours before the Cats were shutout by Chicago. I didn’t even care about the result of that game, and I’d bet most would agree.
But the trade is not being regarded as a victory for the Panthers in a few circles. Considering a third of Florida’s roster wasn’t yet born when he entered the NHL (not to mention the team itself and a healthy portion of the current fanbase), it’s somewhat understandable that this acquisition ranks right up with such notable (read: mostly short-lived) career revivals in recent seasons as Alexei Kovalev, Scott Gomez, Tim Thomas, Filip Kuba and Ed Jovanovski (admittedly hobbled by a severe injury and a truly heroic physical recovery but his game was gone). Florida’s record in this area hasn’t been memorable for its successes, so why should the acquisition of a 43-year old (“the Kid from Kladno”) with bottom six minutes on a creaky Devils squad be any different? Theoretically, it should be a shakier proposition than those named above considering that age of his.
And he hasn’t yet even practiced one tenth of a second with his new team. So the uncertainty out there is again understandable, but the general reason I’ve seen for disappointment (and it’s a small sample size) is…the draft picks surrendered in exchange.
So it’s the 2015 second round and 2016 third round selections going to New Jersey – for a still-effective JAROMIR JAGR, this guy – which are leaving some fans unimpressed. And it’s certainly leaving my head spinning at the same time.
The Cats are within a few points of a postseason berth and acquiring Jagr – digest that career again – is not worth a 2nd and a 3rd?
Please help me in understanding why it’s not beneficial to the club to grab scoring help of his caliber for that price. And no, it’s not 2006 anymore, we get that. But jeez, two picks? One of them a year out?
No matter how this unfolds, Tallon would be skewered down the road if he hadn’t made this very deal at this very time (“It was only two picks…for Jagr! How could he pass on that???”)
Enlighten me.
Jags to the Cats…
| …awesome pickup; absolutely worth a 2nd and 3rd down the stretch and perhaps beyond | 153 |
| …shortsighted move. Those picks are needed down the road. | 33 |
| …meh. Where’s Kessel? | 41 |