Elliotte Friedman reports that the Calgary Flames and Jaromir Jagr are working towards a split. He reports that the Flames intend to treat the 45-year-old veteran with respect and have told his agent they have their permission for him to seek a trade. There were already rumors Friday about Jagr’s future. Friedman also reports that a European team may also be involved, which could end Jagr’s long-time NHL career.
Jagr, who is in the middle of his 20th NHL season, signed a one-year $2MM deal on Oct. 3, one day before the season started. However, Jagr has struggled with both injuries and production and hasn’t been a great fit with the Flames. He has just one goal and six assists in 22 games this season. Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg tweets that Jagr’s lack of a training camp and a proper offseason of workout is what likely led to his inability to adjust in Calgary.
The Flames haven’t had the season they were hoping for so far as detailed in a story earlier today. The team believed it had the young nucleus of talent to put together a big season with players like Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk. The team went out and made several moves, including trading for defenseman Travis Hamonic and goaltender Mike Smith, as well as adding Jagr as a veteran complement to help out in the bottom lines. Although Jagr had trouble finding a job this year, he did score 16 goals last year and 27 in the 2015-16 season with the Florida Panthers.