Jaromir Jagr Traded to Florida Panthers

With the New Jersey Devils on the outside looking in at the Eastern Conference playoff race, star forward Jaromir Jagr has been traded to the Florida Panthers.

Continue for updates.

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Jagr Traded to Panthers

Thursday, Feb. 26

The Panthers announced they have acquired Jagr. Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com provided more details on the deal:

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Jagr Discusses Lack of Playing Time in New Jersey, Desire to Leave

Wednesday, Feb. 25

Tom Gulitti of The Record reported comments from Jagr regarding his playing time with the Devils and his desire to leave, noting that the winger told him that ""If I stay here and we're not going to have a chance to playoffs, I don't think I'm going to play at all. And I still like to play."

"I love this team, but if it's going to be after the trading deadline & we're going to be (out of contention), it's going to get worse,” Jagr said, according to Gulitti.

Jagr told Gulitti that "The coach is changing. That's what it is. That's the way it is. It's not the first time it happened to me and I don't mind it."

When asked if he'd told coaches about the playing time issue, Jagr told Gulitti "Do you think it's going to change anything? I don't think so.”

Rich Chere of NJ.com added more from Jagr, who told reporters he knew his ice time would decrease when Lou Lamoriello took over the team in December:

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Jaromir Jagr said his role with the Devils was doomed the moment general manager Lou Lamoriello fired coach Pete DeBoer on Dec. 26.

Jagr said he saw the drop in ice time and diminished role on the power play coming in the wake of the coaching change.

"I knew it was going to happen. There is a history, so I knew. When coaches change, that's just the way it is. This is not the first time it's happened to me," Jagr said in an interview with NJ Advance Media that was interrupted by several others. 

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Jagr Doesn't Believe Devils Are Shopping Him, Won't Ask for Trade

Wednesday, Feb. 11

NJ.com's Rich Chere reported details on a meeting between Jagr's agent, Petr Scoboda, and Devils GM Lou Lamoriello on Saturday:

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But Jagr said it wasn't because the Devils are in the process of shopping him. 

"I haven't talked to my agent much about it. They probably talked because my agent is from Montreal," Jagr said. "I don't know what they talked about. I don't think they talked about trades or anything like that.

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Dan Rosen of NHL.com provided more comments from Jagr, who says he won't ask to be traded:

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I didn't ask for [a] trade; I'm not going to," Jagr said following practice at Prudential Center on Wednesday. "I don't know what's going to happen. I'm pretty blessed and everything that happened to me always has been for good, so why shouldn't I believe in that now? Either way if I like it or not, I know in the long run it's going to be the best for me.

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Jagr Reportedly Interested In Being Dealt to Eastern Conference Contender 

Tuesday, Feb. 10

It would appear that Jagr is interested in leaving the New Jersey Devils this season to pursue a postseason run, as Darren Dreger said on TSN on Tuesday evening:

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He wants to help an Eastern Conference Contender. He has stopped short of asking [Devils GM] Lou Lamoriello for a trade, because he, like everyone else, is very respectful of Lou Lamoriello. Lamoriello believes that the Devils are still in the postseason fight, so Jagr does not want to bail. But they intend on revisiting the situation, probably a week down the road, to see where the Devils are at that point.

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The Devils are currently 12 points behind the Boston Bruins for the final wild-card spot, so they have quite the fight ahead of them if they are going to reach the postseason. It isn't hard to see why Jagr likely feels he has a better chance at reaching the playoffs with a different team.

Jagr has been solid for New Jersey this season, leading the team with 29 points, accumulating 11 goals and 18 assists in 50 games. Of course, the goals have been hard to come by for the Devils this year, as the 2.2 they average per game is 27th in the NHL. That's likely one reason why Lou Lamoriello might hesitate to move Jagr.

Still, even at the age of 42, Jagr would certainly be a nice contributor for a playoff contender, so the market for him will likely heat up in the next few weeks. With the Devils unlikely to reach the postseason this year, getting a few assets back for Jagr is a logical move.