It has been a strange offseason for both the Devils and Jaromir Jagr, so it might make sense for the two parties to come together to prolong the career of the future Hall of Famer.
It was reported yesterday by Czech broadcaster Roman Jedlicka there was a “99 percent” chance Jagr was going to sign with the Devils. There was no immediate comment or announcement from the team on the subject.
Another Czech print outlet reported on Friday that Jagr was in New Jersey in order to “inspect the Prudential Center” and the team’s facilities. Earlier in the week, Jagr posted a cryptic video on his Facebook page in which he said, in Czech, “As for my next job here in the NHL, I have to say that I see a lot of black.”
At 41 years old, Jagr still is the best scorer available on the free-agent market. In 45 regular-season games with the Stars and Bruins last season, he had 16 goals and 19 assists, and he could be a valuable chip on the Devils’ power play.
Jagr is far from the player he was in his prime, when he was winning Stanley Cups with the Penguins, and has diminished especially in his skating ability. He played last season on a one-year deal worth a prorated $4.55 million. The season before, with the Flyers, he had another one-year deal worth $3.3 million. The three seasons before that, going back to the end of his time with the Rangers, Jagr played for Omsk Avangard of the Russian KHL.
The Devils are a team in transition, especially now with Kovalchuk’s departure. They signed veteran forwards Ryane Clowe and Michael Ryder, and are trying to incorporate some of their young defensemen into the fold this season.
He also can play right wing, a position at which the Devils lost their best player, Ilya Kovalchuk, to retirement last week. The 30-year-old Kovalchuk signed his voluntary retirement papers with 12 years and $77 million dollars remaining on his contract.
The Devils also lost forward David Clarkson, who signed a massive free-agent contract with his hometown Maple Leafs.
Jagr, who played three seasons for the Rangers from 2005-08, began last season with the Stars, but was traded to the Bruins on April 2. He went with them to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the Blackhawks in six games.
Although Jagr didn’t score for Boston in the playoffs, his puck possession and stick handling made him a viable player.