One And Done - Jagr Signs With Dallas

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Last offseason, the Flyers were able to sign Jaromir Jagr to a 1-year deal worth $3.3 million.  He had spent three seasons in the KHL maintaining close to a point-per-game, but teams were skeptical that he could provide that level of production in the more physical NHL, especially at the age of 39.

Supposedly turning down more money from other mystery teams, Jagr liked the situation in Philadelphia.  Giroux and Briere are right-handed shots, which allowed Jagr to work the half-boards on the powerplay, his position of choice.  The Flyers had just signed Ilya Bryzgalov to his mega-contract and moved Richards and Carter for an impressive crop of prospects.  Jagr was free to slide right in to a scoring role next to an up-and-coming superstar on a team that was gearing for a run at the Cup.

The "perfect fit."

The gamble paid off, as Jagr and Giroux - affectionately described as "Little Mario" - showed great chemistry together.  In 73 games, Jagr posted 19 mile-high salutes and 35 assists playing mostly alongside Giroux and Hartnell.  After the Flyers were eliminated from the playoffs, Jagr called his experience with the Flyers "one of the most enjoyable seasons of his career."

Trying to figure it all out?  I'm a man of reason, so I'll just put myself in Jagr's shoes.  Welcome to my internal dialogue:

"Dallas is showing they're going after the Cup this year!"

Like the Flyers last season, the Dallas Stars have not hesitated to make aggressive moves to change their roster.  They've already signed 77-point scorer (and fellow 40-year old) Ray Whitney, acquired former-Sabre Derek Roy, and signed gritty defenseman Aaron Rome.

However, they've also lost Mike Ribeiro, Steve Ott, and Sheldon Souray in the process.  I guess it's not about having the best shot at winning another Stanley Cup.

"I know... it must be their powerplay! I love contributing on special teams, so that must be what's drawing me away. The allure of playing the half boards on that sizzling Dallas powerplay!"

Right... until you realize Dallas had the lowest powerplay percentage in the entire league, and their three best offensive threats (Benn, Eriksson, and Roy) are all left-handed too.  The Flyers' powerplay ranked 6th.  Talk about a head-scratcher.

"Well, I'm not getting any younger, and I did mention not wanting to train as hard, so travel was probably a factor when I chose Dallas."

Not by a longshot.  Philadelphia's division rivals are a college road trip away.  Besides being forced to travel to rundown Nassau Coliseum less and increasing the distance between him and New Jersey, there are no upsides, whatsoever.  The Stars need to travel through multiple time zones just to play within their division.

"Then it must be the money! They offered me $4.55 million."

But that's barely $1.25 million more than we gave you last year!  We have Giroux!  "It's-a-me, Little Mario?!"  We're even down a power forward since we traded JVR... we're the best fit!

"But I don't have to pay income tax in Texas..."

You son of a b**ch.