Jaromir Jagr: 5 Predictions for the New Philadelphia Flyers Season

The Philadelphia Flyers are hoping that Jaromir Jagr can be a good addition to the elaborate 2011 summer plan of Paul Holmgren's this offseason.

Jagr, in early July, signed a one-year deal in Philly worth $3.3 million and returns to the NHL after spending the past three seasons in Russia.

He is expected to pick up a lot of the scoring that the Flyers lost out on during this offseason. The Flyers will be putting a lot of pressure on the new guys to step up and contribute early and often...the only problem is that all the new guys are very inexperienced.

Jagr stands out like a sore thumb because of his 20-plus years of professional experience. Here is what you can expect from Jaromir Jagr this upcoming season.

Games Played

At 39 years old, durability will definitely be an area of concern for Jagr this season. However, he has not shown much sign of slowing down the past few seasons in Russia.

The KHL's season is much shorter, having only 54 regular season games, so the past few years in Russia have actually saved his body some wear and tear.

That being said, American hockey is totally different and it is a much more physically daunting task to take the ice each night. Jagr will be turning 40 during the season and there is only hope he can remain injury-free.

My guess is Jagr plays about 65 games this season, and in only about 30 of them will he feel totally 100 percent healthy.

Goals

The big concern for Flyers fans is how many times will Jaromir Jagr lights the lamp this season.

Jagr has always been brutal against the Orange and Black, playing for two bitter rivals in the Penguins and the Rangers in his NHL career. Will he be the 50-goal scorer he was with Pittsburgh? I highly doubt it.

In Russia, Jagr averaged 24 goals in their 52-game season. Translating that to the NHL, I would say the Flyers will be happy with Jagr scoring 25 goals.

I think at this point in his career, Jagr is more of a playmaker than a scorer.

Assists

Jagr has always been a playmaker for whatever team he has been on. Sure he has scored plenty of goals, but he has set up more goals for other players than himself in his career.

The Flyers need his scoring, but they also need his playmaking ability to make his new young teammates around him better. Guys like Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek all need the extra help they can get in transitioning to a new team and new style of play this season.

If Jagr reaches the 50-assist mark, the Flyers should be thrilled.

Jagr Will Be Mentioned as Team MVP

If the Flyers are expecting a Stanley Cup this year, then Jagr will have to be very productive in order for the team to do so.

When the dust settles on the 2011-2012 NHL season, Jaromir Jagr's name will be thrown around in consideration for the team MVP award.

Will he be the team MVP? Not unless he goes crazy and scores 50-plus goals, but he will position himself as one of the team's best.

Jagr Will Be a Midseason All-Star

Jaromir Jagr will be selected to go to Ottawa to take place in the 2012 NHL All-Star game.

Will his stats make him a worthy selection? Possibly, but just having Jagr's name on the ballot will be a marketing gimmick for the league.

Save for the Olympics, hockey fans have missed out on one of the greatest players of this era for the past three years.

Jagr will get another chance to be on the national stage come late January.