By Jordan Long
Right winger Jaromir Jagr is still without an NHL contract. He plans to play hockey this season. His options are the NHL or to play in the Czech Republic. According to ESPN.com, Jagr said, “The most serious negotiations I have are with Kladno, because Kladno has a smart owner who knows what he wants. No, really, I don’t have a clue. I leave it all on my agent [Petr Svoboda]. There is a couple of [NHL] teams that showed interest, but nothing specific yet.” What should Jagr do?
Jagr is still a productive player in the NHL. Last season was his 24th in the NHL and at age 45, he was able to light up the lamp with a total 16 goals. Jagr found his teammates on the open ice with 30 assists. Even at his age, he logged 17 minutes per game. Jagr sits in second place on the all-time scoring list with 1,914 points.
Teams are staying away from him because of how old is he. During the season, Jagr will turn 46 years old, which is way past his prime. He could help a team on the second or third line and even have time on the power play. The problem is Jagr has slowed down in recent years. He doesn’t have the speed he once had which allows skaters to skate past him for scoring chances.
It is time for Jagr to move on from the NHL. There is not much left for him to do in the NHL. He already has 2 Stanley Cup rings. Athletes in the NHL dream of 1 ring and he won back to back cups in 1991 and 1992. Jagr appeared in 13 NHL All-Star games. The only achievement left for him is to break Gordie Howe’s record for most games played in the NHL. Howe has a total of 1,767, Jagr needs 57 more games to surpass Howe which is more than half the season. Even if he played this year in the NHL, there isn’t a guarantee he would break that record because he could end up with an injury.
Jagr is better off playing in his home country of the Czech Republic. Playing there allows him to represent his country in the NHL Olympics if he chooses to. This also lets him go out a country hero. It is best for him to finish up his hockey Hall of Fame career in the Czech Republic. A decision from him is going to come soon.
Where should Jaromir Jagr play this upcoming season?
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