Jaromir Jagr remains a free agent in the NHL and, when it comes to being with a team for training camp, the hour is late as the end of August nears. It was not even three weeks ago when he spoke about the benefits of playing for Kladno, a second-tier team in the Czech Republic. Those benefits would include the flexibility to join a team in the NHL when lineup vacancies invariably open up this upcoming season due to injuries. In short, when Jagr spoke about playing for Kladno he was talking about playing the waiting game with the NHL and then finding a team in a desperate spot.
Feeding on the desperate isn't something future Hall of Famers usually have to do, but it just goes to show what can happen if you hang on to your career until its natural end.
Calgary Flames in gossip
Most recently Jagr's name was associated with the Calgary Flames. NHL.com published an article on August 22 about that matter. Acting on a tip from Elliott Friedman, the NHL's homepage headlined "Flames could have interest in Jagr: report" (no author listed). On Saturday the same website headlined a different article: "Jagr's agent believes he 'will get something done': report." However no teams are mentioned with the exception of the reiteration that the Calgary Flames may be interested in the sure-fire future Hall of Famer.
The 'news' was circular in the sense that it returned to the already reported information that Jagr might play in the Czech Republic before going back to the NHL. That reiteration seems to contradict the optimism that Jagr's agent, Petr Svoboda, communicated on the matter. Whether with Calgary, with a tier-two team in the Czech Republic, or some place else you could start wondering when Jagr is going to get tired of it all.
He will turn 46 years old over the course of the upcoming NHL season and, as immense as his talent is, that's a really scary age for a GM to sign a player on at.
Jagr's numbers dipped last season
That's especially the case following the season that Jagr had last year where his averages dipped from the year prior. You would still think that there would be just one team that's willing to sign Jagr on.
However the contract could be tough. You'd think the money-for-stats component would have to account for dipping stats that could dip further. The money-for-star-power component isn't bad as adding Jagr to a lineup would add a very recognizable name. There's also veteran leadership that he would bring, but that can be over-rated as the 20-year olds skate circles around you. 33-year old forward Thomas Vanek is still on the market as well so you'd think that any team looking to spend for stats would be looking at him at this point instead of Jagr.
When a player retires is a personal decision. But watching a veteran like Jagr scrounge around for a contract has two sides. It's not the way you want to see such a great player having to conduct himself.
But on the other hand it's admirable to see a player looking for every possible angle to keep playing before hanging up the skates. It was hard to imagine it taking this long at the start of free agency about two months ago. If the Calgary lead pans out or if the Czech Republic-to-whatever-team-needs-a-band-aid plan works, it will still be hard to picture Jagr getting anything but a short-term deal for sure.
