The Jaromir Jagr soap opera continued late Thursday night, as news broke that Jagr had not even limited his potential choices to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens, as it had previously appeared.
Jaromir Jagr Not Just Talking To Penguins, Red Wings And Canadiens
“There’s a lot more teams now we’re talking to,” [Jagr’s agent Petr] Svoboda told ESPN.com Thursday evening ...
Jagr, 39, will make a decision “in the next few days,” Svoboda said.
This has to be infuriating to the Penguins and their fans, in particular. The Penguins, hoping to find balance with an unsettled bunch of wingers, extended a contract offer to their former star, while also trying to figure out how to divvy up their remaining cap room to several unsigned forwards, including Pascal Dupuis and Arron Asham (who they ended up signing) and Tyler Kennedy and Mike Rupp (who they haven't).
The Pens expected Jagr to make a decision Wednesday, but he didn’t, and in the meantime, excited Penguins fans bombed Twitter and the rest of the internet with dozens of rumors about Jagr and his whereabouts, and many even showed up at Pittsburgh’s airport hoping to celebrate Jagr’s return to the city (which never came).
Wednesday came and went without a decision, and now, Thursday has nearly come and gone. Meanwhile, the NHL free-agency period opens Friday.
Jagr is free to do whatever he likes, of course, but it’s a shame to see that he’s squandering the appreciation that Penguins fans have showed him in the past couple weeks, which was way out of proportion with his current skill level anyway. In any case, where he signs now is anyone’s guess.
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