Jaromir Jagr Has $35M Reasons To Leave The Rangers

Jaromir Jagr has had a very successful tenure in New York. He has made the playoffs three years in a row, he became only the third Ranger ever to score 50 or more goals in a season, and he won the Lester B. Pearson Award (given to the league's most outstanding player).

During the first season after the lockout, Jagr carried the Rangers on his back and led them to the playoffs. Even though he struggled mightily this past season, he returned to form during the playoffs and showed he can still play at a high level.

However, with a $35M after-tax offer from Omsk-Avangard, the Russian team he played with during the lockout, his return to Broadway seems to be highly doubtful.

Jagr let it be known after the Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs that he had a number of family considerations to factor into his decision of whether or not he would return to the NHL and the Rangers. This offer definitely makes it seem more attractive to play closer to home.

Jagr has repeatedly said he wants to return to New York—but he wants a multi-year contract. At this point, Glenn Sather's offer is for one year, with incentive-laden parameters similar to Brendan Shanahan's contract last season.

It has been relatively clear that Jagr wants to know that the Rangers will still be his team when he returns. This notion is one of the reasons why Sather signed the 'Czech Brigade' (Straka, Roszival, etc) following the lockout—to make Jagr feel comfortable. That plan has worked thus far, but it's time to move in a different direction with Gomez and Drury in their prime.

If Jagr takes a one-year offer, he would help the Rangers—especially if they can't sign Marian Hossa. But, signing him for two or three years is only prolonging the inevitable end of the Jagr era in New York. It is unlikely that Jagr will accept a one-year offer, as it only cements the idea in his mind that the Rangers are preparing to move on with plans that do not include him.

A stubborn-as-a-mule Glenn Sather, combined with a $35M offer on the table from Omsk-Avangard, makes it very likely that Jagr will be saying goodbye to Broadway and saying hello to Russia.