Jaromir Jagr Will Continue Playing, Signs One-Year Deal With Florida Panthers
By Ryan Ritchie
Jaromir Jagr Will Play At Least One More Season as Florida Panthers Announce The Future Hall-of-Famer Signed a One-Year Deal
Florida Panthers announced on Thursday that Jaromir Jagr has re-signed with the organization on a one-year deal.
Jagr is coming off a productive season in 2015-16. He had 27 goals, 39 assists (66 points) in 79 games. The last time he surpassed 27 goals was back in 2006-07 with the New York Rangers.
Brought in for his intangibles and the type of player who can lead by example, Jaromir Jagr continues to serve as mentor to a young group of Florida Panthers. We seem to focus on a player’s skill-set/pure talent, but often forget there’s a mental side of things that plays an integral part in overall success.
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When Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov see the 44-year-old veteran still going hard in the gym or making sure he matches game speed in practice, the example he sets is contagious through the entire dressing room.
Jaromir Jagr is coming off a 2015-16 contract which carried a $3.5 million dollar cap hit, although he managed to pocket nearly $2 million dollars in performance bonuses. Exact figures are yet to be announced, but it makes sense that his new deal ranges somewhere similar.
“Jaromir is a Hall of Fame player and had an excellent season playing alongside Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau,” GM Dale Tallon said. “His track record speaks for itself, ranking third all-time in points and goals. He has been a great fit with our organization and we are excited to have him back for next season.”
Climbing All-Time Lists
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Jaromir Jagr managed to pass Mr.Hockey (Gordie Howe) on the all-time points list in 2015-16 – Howe sits at 1850. Jagr now sits third all-time with 1868, just 21 points behind Mark Messier for second. It’s worth noting that he’s played 127 games less than Messier.
The Czech forward also sits third on the all-time goals list with 749. Jagr is only 51 goals shy of tying Mr.Hockey (801) and 144 short of the Great One (Wayne Gretzky). Another six years at 2015-16 level of production, Gretzky might have reason to be nervous. In all seriousness, the longevity of Jaromir Jagr is truly astounding and impressive.
Sitting sixth on the all-time assists list (1119), Jagr is chasing Paul Coffey (1135) and Ray Bourque (1169) as he continues to climb the charts in 2016-17.
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Jaromir Jagr does however stand alone in one statistical category. His 133 game-winning-goals is a league-high which sits 15 ahead of second place Phil Esposito.
Who knows how much Jaromir Jagr has left in the tank. Although if his 2015-16 performance is any indication, it’s difficult not take him seriously when he jokes about playing until he’s 50. Regardless, we should take a moment as fans to truly appreciate the game’s best European player ever.