Philadelphia Flyers Need to Lock Up Jaromir Jagr for Next Season

The Philadelphia Flyers stunned the NHL this season by ruining the prodigal son story that seemed to be unfolding between the Pittsburgh Penguins and former Pens superstar Jaromir Jagr. The Flyers inked Jagr to a $3.3 million deal.

Jagr, who had spent his career rubbing Philadelphia fans the wrong way, became an overnight hero. Not only was he committed to the Orange and Black, but he ruffled some feathers in Pittsburgh along the way. That act will always put smiles on faces in the Wells Fargo Center.

Jagr’s deal was only for a single year, and his on-ice successes prove he can still be effective. They're creating a case that the near 40-year-old is not done with hockey just yet. He will become a free agent again in the beginning of July, and the Flyers should give some serious consideration to extending the wily Czech.

Fans in Philly haven’t gotten enough of the salute just yet.

Chemistry with Giroux and Hartnell

Claude Giroux is emerging as one of hockey’s next superstars and Scott Hartnell is having a career year. Their combined success is in no small part thanks to the fact that they play on a line with Jaromir Jagr.

Jagr attracts the attention of defenders thanks to his on-ice vision and unbelievable skating ability, so players like Giroux and Hartnell—who would normally have to battle and battle for real estate—are able to maneuver and cycle more effectively.

Losing that chemistry could cost the Flyers’ top line its potency.

In fact, in recent years, the Flyers haven’t exactly had a bona fide top line. The team would cycle two or three very effective lines with players like Danny Briere, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, but there was no go-to unit that could be relied upon in pressure situations.

The emergence of the Giroux-Hartnell-Jagr line has added a dimension to the Flyers offense—one that the team cannot afford to lose as they try to remain competitive next season.

He Can Still Be Productive

Jagr’s biggest weakness has been his long-term durability. The big right-winger has dealt with nagging groin issues from time to time this season. However, despite missing eight games this season, Jagr has 12 goals and 35 points in 41 games, good for third on the team. He is also tied for second on the team with five power-play goals.

Not only do his numbers still turn heads, but Jagr’s age does not appear to be holding him back over the course of a 60-minute game. Not including games where he left with injury, Jagr has consistently taken over 20 shifts per game—numbers that put him nearly on par with players like Scott Hartnell, despite a 10-year age difference.

The concern coming into the season was that Jagr would wind up being a $3.3 million waste of space on the bench. The Czech winger has been anything but.

He’s consistently on the ice when he dresses for games, and he has found his way onto the score sheet often.

For Jaromir Jagr, age is just a number.

The Team Needs an Extra Veteran on the Ice

There’s no denying that the Flyers are a young team.

The team’s scoring leader, Claude Giroux, is only 24. The offensive future on the team (Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier and Matt Read) had a combined nine games of NHL experience coming into the season, and only three skaters who have been dressing regularly for the past few months are over the age of 30.

For as good as the Philly youngsters have been, veteran leadership is still a must, and there could very well be a major lack of it next season. Team captain Chris Pronger, widely considered to be one of the top leaders in the league, is already missing the rest of the 2011-12 season with post-concussion syndrome, and media members and fans alike are speculating that Pronger’s career could be in jeopardy (via Yahoo Sports).

With a surplus of impressionable youth on the roster and role models in high demand, signing Jagr for at least another year could be about more than point production.

Even when Jagr’s stats drop, there is no denying that his impression on the team will remain valuable—at least until Couturier becomes the next Jagr.

His Work Ethic Is Invaluable

Before Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were traded away, the major criticism about the core of the Flyers team was that they did not take their roles seriously.

Photos Richards, Carter, Joffrey Lupul and Scottie Upshall spending their off-nights throwing down shots with coeds seemed to surface regularly.

Jagr’s signing, coming on the heels of GM Paul Holmgren jettisoning Richards and Carter, was not simply about statistical production. Holmgren saw a need to bring the right work ethic to a young team, and Jagr is famous for his effort.

According to Fox Sports, Jagr asked Flyers management for keys to the SkateZone in Voorhees, New Jersey, the Flyers practice facility. In no time, Jagr was participating in “midnight skates” and his younger teammates soon joined him.

The Flyers still have plenty of development ahead of them, and having a presence that keeps them focused is going to put them on the fast track to a Stanley Cup.

He’ll Keep Provoking Reactions from Opponents

Any Flyers fan will admit that the best part about signing Jagr was the reactions that came out of the camp of the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins seemed to be the front-runner to sign Jagr before free agency began, only to have the Flyers swoop in and steal the veteran in his return to the NHL. Immediately, citizens of the Steel City turned on Jagr, calling the move a “betrayal” and declaring that he was only in it for the money.

In fine fashion, Jagr returned to Pittsburgh in late December and scored a backhand goal. He celebrated by directing a salute to a Penguins fan who appeared to be jeering the superstar.

For Philadelphia, it was one of those “how sweet it is” moments.

Likewise, Jagr gets a rain of boos every time he touches the puck in Madison Square Garden, playing against the team that he left for Europe.

Putting up points is nice, but stirring up a rival fanbase whenever you step onto the ice? That’s a trait Flyers fans can appreciate.

He's Passing the Torch to the Next Icon

Jaromir Jagr was drafted fifth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1990 NHL draft, when the Flyers passed on the Czech stud in favor of Mike Ricci. Since starting his playing career with the Pens, Jagr has amassed 1,639 points in more than 18 NHL seasons.

With the exception of Wayne Gretzky and Jagr’s former teammate Mario Lemieux, Jagr is among the greatest players to play in the 1990s and early 2000s, currently ranking ninth on the all-time scoring list despite missing four seasons due to the lockout and playing in the KHL in Europe.

Now in the twilight of his career, Jagr is sharing a line with one of the NHL’s top scorers this season, Claude Giroux. Giroux is quickly gaining league-wide attention as one of the league’s top playmakers and skaters, and he is on the verge of becoming hockey’s next major superstar.

Giroux and Jagr playing on the same line is, in a way, a passing of the torch.

If the Flyers keep Jagr on the roster, hockey fans will get to watch the game’s past and future coming together for another season. Sidney Crosby had Mario Lemieux as his career started, Pavel Datsyuk had Steve Yzerman and now Claude Giroux is being groomed by a legend of his own.

It may be an entirely symbolic reason to keep Jagr, but seeing two players of different NHL eras play on the same line is good for the game, and good for the Flyers.