45 year old winger Jaromir Jagr is still looking for a new home after it was recently revealed that the Panthers wouldn’t be bringing him back for 2017-18. One place he won’t be going is Philadelphia, one of his former teams. When asked by Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer about bring the veteran back for another stint with the Flyers, GM Ron Hextall had the following to say:
“That’s just not the direction we’re headed in now. I have a great deal of respect for his accomplishments and everything he’s done in the game, but, again, it’s just not the direction we’re going.”
Jagr is the third highest scoring forward remaining on the open market after posting 46 points (16-30-46) in 82 games with the Panthers last season. He’s coming off a contract that saw him earn $5.5MM between his salary and games played bonuses and will likely have to come in below that wherever he signs on for next year.
Other notes from the East:
- Panthers GM Dale Tallon envisions big things for recent acquisition Evgeni Dadonov. He told reporters, including Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel, that Dadonov projects to play on their top line alongside Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. The 28 year old struggled in his first stint with Florida back from 2009-2011 but is coming off a career season in the KHL where he finished fifth in league scoring with 66 points (30-36-66) in 53 games.
- After missing 64 games with recurring hip problems last season, Lightning winger Ryan Callahan told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that those issues are completely behind him and that are no limitations. Tampa Bay would undoubtedly welcome a healthy Callahan in their lineup to get some bang for their buck; he currently is their second highest paid forward and still has three years left on his deal with a $5.8MM cap charge.
- The Penguins plan to replace Nashville-bound center Nick Bonino via the trade route, GM Jim Rutherford noted to reporters, including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He acknowledged that he has been in talks with other teams but so far the prices have been too high for his liking. Rutherford added that he’s in no rush to find the right fit and that he would be okay if it took until sometime into next season before they acquire Bonino’s replacement.
Could Kruger be a potential fit for Bonino’s spot? Can’t imagine Vegas wants to keep him.
You could do better, sure, but I’d be fine with Kruger.
Kruger isn’t bad, but his cap hit is a problem.
Jagr’s to Carolina. He and Ronnie were teammates and friends and the Canes need a scoring winger.
Flyers need to decide what they really wanna do.we have a patient approach with developing players,but we continue on with players like Giroux,Voracek and Simmonds,like we’re trying to be competitive.
If we’re waiting on the development of our prospects,Voracek should’ve been shopped around before getting that 8 yr contract.we should be shopping Simmonds now,before having to sign him or watch his value slip like G and Voracek.all 3 of them are in the 30yr old range,so theyre gonna be in decline when the prospects are ready.
Yet we trade the 26 yr old Schenn.i dont wanna hear about how he scored all of his goals on the pp,the whole team struggled to score 5 on 5.right now we’re relying on Patrick and prospects to solve our problems.
For the record,im not complaining that the Flyers wont sign Jagr.im complaining we’ve pretty much declared ourselves done after signing Elliott.we’re a bubble playoff team,and we’re taking a step backwards.we got very lucky getting that 2nd pick.i get not wanting to block prospects,but i also dont think its smart to try to force them into your lineup.wouldnt be the end of the world if we had to sit Raffl,Weise or Lehtera,or even waive Read if a prospect forces his way into the lineup.but the prospects should have to play their way into the lineup,we shouldnt just hand it to them.
19 years under Clarke and Holmgren,we missed the playoffs twice.
3 years under Hextall,we missed the playoffs twice,and its looking like we’re about to miss them for the 3rd time in 4 years.
Draft lotteries need to be restructured,losing is not the right way to build.