Flyers-Penguins Memories: Jaromir Jagr Chooses Enemy Over Reunion
Jaromir Jagr sits on the mantle with the best hockey players in history after incredible professional hockey performances in parts of five decades. The graceful Czech winger built a Hall…
Jaromir Jagr sits on the mantle with the best hockey players in history after incredible professional hockey performances in parts of five decades. The graceful Czech winger built a Hall of Fame resume with two Stanley Cups and five Art Ross Trophies in 17 seasons from 1990-2008.
However, he wouldn’t have climbed the leaderboards into second in NHL history in scoring without the unique circumstances that pushed him into a second career in North American hockey that in itself lasted longer than the large majority of NHL players.
That second NHL career began with a stunning free agency choice that caught the venom of the city of Pittsburgh.
Jaromir Jagr Chooses Flyers
Jagr spent three seasons in the KHL in Russia from 2008-2011. Even at age 39, though, he couldn’t resist the lure of a return to the greatest hockey league in the world.
His best seasons in the NHL came with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1990s alongside Mario Lemieux. While his exit from Pittsburgh wasn’t exactly clean, a reunion seemed imminent. Both sides could've let bygones be bygones to bring a valuable veteran and franchise legend back into the mix. The move made too much sense for a team in a window of Stanley Cup contention with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in their prime seasons.
The Penguins offered Jagr a one-year, $2 million deal while most people around the NHL took the logical landing spot for granted entering NHL free agency.
Photo by Rick Stewart/Allsport/Getty ImagesThen, when the league year began on July 1, 2011, Paul Holmgren swooped in. The rival Philadelphia Flyers stunningly signed Jaromir Jagr to a one-year deal for $3.3 million.
While the money probably drove his decision most substantially, Pittsburgh fans could only focus on one element of the story. One of the greatest Penguins ever had just deliberately chosen the deplorable arch-rival Flyers.
Jagr also prioritized the role he’d play at age 39. Crosby and Malkin were the cornerstones of Pittsburgh’s loaded lineup of firepower. Jagr knew the two younger stars would dominate the top-six minutes and the first power-play unit. He chose to join a less established Flyers team with a reshuffled lineup following the departure of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter.
The Flyers also signed Pittsburgh's 2009 Stanley Cup hero Maxime Talbot the same day.
Penguins fans no longer planned on letting bygones be bygones. Jagr’s decision reignited the venom they showed for their former star when he played for the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals during the early 2000s.
The magnitude of the decision heightened when the Flyers and the Penguins engaged in furious bloodbaths through the 2011-12 season at the peak of the intense rivalry. The vicious battles culminated in an unforgettably chaotic series in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Jagr’s Second Career
Jaromir Jagr landed smoothly with the Flyers as the perfect first-line complement to emerging superstar center Claude Giroux and goal-scoring winger Scott Hartnell. Although Jagr wasn’t the Hart Trophy candidate from his days in Pittsburgh, he aged gracefully with excellent hands and touch passing that helped the dynamic top line find chemistry.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesHe finished his only season in Philadelphia with 19 goals and 35 assists in 73 games. However, Jagr’s impact on Giroux’s leadership and dedication to his craft might’ve been more important than any contributions on the ice.
Former Flyers captain Chris Pronger told 97.5 The Fanatic about Jagr’s stunning work ethic during the short stint in Philadelphia, pointing out that Jagr had his own key to the Flyers Training Center in South Jersey.
“As dedicated and as maniacal about the game as you might think… He had a key to the practice rink… They’d have video of him out there skating around in his shorts and a t-shirt. He’s got weights on his ankles and his skates. He’s got a weighted stick, and he’s out there just skating around for like an hour working on his stride and stick handling, shooting a weighted puck, and all kinds of stuff. Just a freak.”
The Flyers infamously defeated the Penguins in Jagr’s only playoff series in orange and black, but the NHL legend them moved on. Jagr astoundingly went on to play for five more NHL teams. He showed he had plenty of skill left in the tank with a 66-point season at age 43 in 2014-15 – and also plenty of durability left in the tank with an 82-game season at age 44 in 2015-16.
Jagr played 499 combined regular season and playoff games during his second stint in North America through his final NHL game (at least we think so) on December 31, 2017.
After the iconic second tour, Jagr moved back to his native Czechia to play for the Kladno Knights. His role on the ice and in the team’s ownership has continued well into his 50s.
