In the Eastern Conference Morning Papers, Larry Brooks of the NY Post provided this quote from Tom Renney:
Renney led the Rangers to three straight playoff berths coming out of the lockout, after the team had missed the tournament seven consecutive years. He invested heavily in Jaromir Jagr and was rewarded for his faith. It is no surprise that Renney both stays in touch with No. 68 and is keenly interested in bringing him to the Oilers once the winger completes his second season with Omsk of the KHL and is able to exercise an out clause in his contract.
“Jags and I text back and forth. I talked to him about six weeks ago,” Renney said. “He’s on our radar. He has NHL years ahead of him. No question.”
I thought that was an interesting comment because I think that most people feel like Jaromir Jagr’s NHL days are behind him. Now, David Staples of the Cult of Hockey floated this possibility last season and apparently it almost came to fruition. However, another season has passed and Jaromir Jagr will be 38 in February. His contract in the KHL expires after this season and if he were to choose to return to the NHL, I’m sure he wouldn’t come cheap. Combine his age with his expected salary and there wouldn’t be many teams that would have room/willing to take Jagr on–especially because he will probably play two more seasons maximum. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, Jagr is a different kind of guy in the dressing room. He generally likes the team to be “his” and would want ice-time and the pressure that comes along with that. Will a team make all those concessions for a player in his late 30s whose best days are clearly behind him? I’d say most won’t. But hey, he only needs one team that is truly interested.
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