clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Kicking The Tires On A 68

Jagr says he's gotten zero calls to play in 2017-18. Let's talk.

By Jeff Chapman
NHL: Florida Panthers at Buffalo Sabres
For a year? Let's talk.
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL unrestricted free agency period is usually a minefield. It's a time where desperate general managers throw cash like it's freshly spewed hot magma that has somehow attached itself to their hands.

With free agency beginning tomorrow, all eyes are on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid will no doubt rake it in (hopefully over an eight year extension). Leon's deal is...a little stickier. I remain optimistic because Chiarelli Is Good At These Things, or so I am told.

I'm a big fan of the low-risk, moderate upside kinds of deals. There look to be a few out there. Radim Vrbata. Justin Williams is good and safe too, though he'll probably get a few years on a deal somewhere.

Nobody wants a slightly used Jaromir Jagr this offseason? C'mon.

46 points in Florida (16-30-46) was good for fourth on the club, only eight behind top Panther Vincent Trocheck. It's not a billion points, as the blazing speed has slowed several notches since his days in Pittsburgh.

At 45, the obvious nick in the armor is that he's not really in the prime stages of his career. That's almost as obvious as saying that the Russell deal is bad business. Sun shines, water wet. But let's also be very honest here, when Jagr is on the ice, the other team has trouble getting the puck. As of 2016-17, opponents seem to have an issue putting the puck on net when this very same 45 year old is out there. Did I mention that he scored 46 points last year? That's almost as many as Milan Lucic, who coincidentally has a contract that will very nearly take him to Jaromir Jagr's age. And nobody's calling?

I've got a lot of time for a guy who holds onto the puck like a succulent ham at Christmas. If he's putting it out there that he hasn't gotten very many calls (zero if we are to believe him), pick up the phone and start at two million.

The Oilers are in cap hell beginning in 2018-19. I'd still offer him two years at that price. Tell him he can skate with McDavid. Put him on the power play. You won't even notice that Benoit Pouliot is missing.