There are quite a few storylines to choose from in Vancouver during these Winter Olympics, especially in the hockey tournament. The rivalries, the expectations and of course, the return of admired European players to the North American stage. I think the story that kind of irks me the most is Jaromir Jagr's, as he is doing a fine job for the Czech Republic, having a pair of goals and an assist in the first two games of the tournament. With three points in two games, there is a definite cry for his return to the NHL, which frankly, I could live without.
I have a lot of respect for the numbers that Jagr has put up in his NHL career (1,599 points in 1,273 games), those are fantastic, but without some high-flying talent playing alongside him, he's practically useless on a team that wants to win a championship and that's where a good portion of my disdain comes from when it comes to Jagr. His work ethic on the ice is really what separates him from a lot of players that I respect and love to watch on a nightly basis. Now that the NHL is spoiled with the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, the floating style of Jagr just seems so weak to watch and if he's going to try and win a Stanley Cup upon his return, teams are going to want a level of effort that is up there with some of the younger players that are making names for themselves now. There is no question that Jagr still has good hands and an accurate shot, his goal against Latvia on Friday night was a beauty over the shoulder goal, but is that going to be enough, especially if an NHL team doesn't have enough room to give him a top-flight centre.
If Jagr finds a team that doesn't have the top-flight centre he needs, but gets a boatload of money, how long will it be before he just floats on his skill again and the complaints about the money spent to points scored ratio get to be too much? I'm sure there are a few NHL clubs that would love to experiment with Jagr on their team, he's certainly shown a burning desire for the game, but as Washington and New York had found, the honeymoons have not lasted terribly long.
I'm sure my favourite team, the Canucks, won't be in any sort of sweepstakes for Jagr, so I really shouldn't have much for concerns about his return, but with the price tag he would have around his neck, even at age 38, he would be changing the face of the game, in terms of how he'll fit in this already-tightly packed salary cap era that we're watching.
Without a doubt, Jagr will be a curiosity for all of us to behold, but I really do feel like he's going to be a bigger headache to the NHL then he's going to be a benefit to the game. I hope he takes his star power back to Russia and keeps it there. They need it more than we do.
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