Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Panthers move on, and move Jagr out
GM says ‘core young guys’ must take over
SUNRISE — Dale Tallon said severing ties with all-time great Jaromir Jagr was a business and hockey decision, but it hurt just the same.
“It’s an honor to be touched by a legend,” Tallon, the Panthers’ general manager and president of hockey operations, said Saturday at the BB&T Center after a busy first day of free agency. “I was torn. It’s been a tough couple of months and I can’t thank him enough for what he did for our kids, myself and the organization; you can’t measure it.
“It’s time our core young guys take over this team and that was our thought process as well.”
Jagr mentored several of the Panthers’ budding stars, such as Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad by passing on his hockey IQ, his dedication to the sport which earned him the Masterton Trophy last season, as well as his maniacal fitness regimen.
When the Panthers prospects were finishing up Thursday’s practice at the IceDen, Jagr was pulling into the parking lot getting ready to work out inside.
“He’s not your typical
45-year-old; he’s a great player; he’s still an unbelievable player,” Barkov, 21, said of his linemate. “I love the way he plays and love to play with him, so of course everybody in this world wants him to continue.”
Jagr will continue, just not in South Florida.
Jagr earned a base salary of $4 million last year that grew to $5.5 million with bonuses. Tallon said Thursday that he had been talking to Jagr’s agent Petr Svoboda on a regular basis and that the window would remain open to re-sign Jagr until October if no other team signed him.
That window slammed shut when free agency began Saturday.
Tallon admitted that while Svoboda made an early offer in the protracted negotiation process, he never made a counter-offer.
A source said Jagr felt disrespected and left twisting in the wind since April.
Tallon said the new coaching staff’s emphasis on speed and an up-tempo attack played a role in the decision to buy out the slower-skating Jussi Jokinen and not bring back Jagr.
“I was trying to make some moves to free up some money,” Tallon said. “It just didn’t develop and we decided to go in a different direction.”
Despite playing with both of his young linemates, Barkov and Huberdeau, for just 23 games because of injuries last season, Jagr had 16 goals and 46 points in 82 games.
Jagr also tied for the team lead with 8 power-play goals and led with 25 even-strength assists while playing with minor leaguers and rookies for long stretches of the season.
Jagr, Barkov and Huberdeau were arguably one of the most productive lines in the NHL in Florida’s franchise-best 103-point, 2015-16 season when the trio combined for 75 goals and 184 points.
Since joining the Panthers via a trade with the New Jersey Devils in February of 2015, Jagr has reach some lofty milestones, becoming the third all-time goal scorer (765) and second all-time points leader (1,914).
Panthers president Matt Caldwell told the Sun Sentinel in May that every time Jagr reached another milestone, attendance soared and his No. 68 jersey far outsold any other Panthers’ jersey in their team store.
“Jagr kind of put us in the big boy club,” Caldwell said at the time. “His impact has been huge. He’s obviously a legend, a star and has helped us build this hockey market we’ve been focusing on since Vinnie [Viola] bought the team. He gives us credibility because of his experience as even the casual fan knows who he is.”
In his first full season in Florida in 2015-16, Jagr became the oldest player ever to lead his team in scoring with 66 points (27 goals). In 181 games with the Panthers he had 49 goals and 130 points.
Jagr, who said he would like to play until he’s 50, will now wait for the phone to ring to see if he will play for his ninth NHL team.
If not, he could always return home to the Czech Republic and play for the Kladno Knights, a team he owns.