Flyers sign Jaromir Jagr (Updated)

“My heart is in Pittsburgh.”

“I still have a house there, I was too lazy to sell it!”

While paraphrased, these were the statements that Jaromir Jagr made to the media in the days leading up to free agency. Penguins general manager Ray Shero, coach Dan Bylsma, and owner Mario Lemieux wanted Jagr to retire a Penguin.

It became clear this morning, though, that Jagr was just looking for another paycheck. Shero pulled his offer and used the money to re-sign Tyler Kennedy.

Then Detroit pulled their offer. How did the Flyers react?

By signing the 40-year old Czech to a one-year, $3.3 million deal.

UPDATE

I can’t say I was thrilled with the Jagr signing earlier today, but in the grand scheme of things… well, it’s still an enigma.

The positives from the signing are that Jagr has shown that, even at age 40, he is still an exceptionally talented player on the ice. As Dave Lidbury of GagneDouze.weebly.com pointed out to me earlier, Jagr played with Jakub Voracek during the IIHF World Championship last year. Voracek, who was re-signed today for one years at $2.5 million, could benefit from playing with his fellow Czech.

On a one-year deal, Jagr is basically this year’s Zherdev.

The negative from the signing is that Jagr is basically this year’s Zherdev. He’s obviously just playing for another paycheck, there’s questions that he can play for an entire 82 game season without being gassed, and his attitude could be a major problem.

Everyone understands how coach Peter Laviolette handled Zherdev- he benched him repeatedly for his attitude and lack of commitment (or perceived lack of commitment) to playing defense. How is Jagr going to handle being benched at times? How are Jagr and Chris Pronger going to gel in the locker room? Many saw the trades of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards as a means of creating a culture shift in the locker room, but this just reeks of clashing egos.

I was going to write another post, but people seem to have flocked here already for free agency discussion, so to summarize:

– Flyers signed defenseman Andreas Lilja to a two-year, $735K per year deal. It’s a minor move, but not a very good one regardless. Lilja, 36, has been passed around the league over the last few seasons and is no better or worse than Nick Boynton. The ± stat isn’t that good of an indicator for how an individual performs when on a bad team, but as a reference, he finished last season -15. He replaces Sean O’Donnell, who was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks on a one-year, $850K deal.

– Flyers signed third line center Max Talbot to a five-year, $9 million deal. Talbot is young, strong on the penalty kill and a good character guy, so while I’m not overly excited with the contract, it is reasonable. I would have preferred they signed Eric Belanger, who signed with the Edmonton Oilers on a three-year, $1.75 million contract.

– Flyers traded Kris Versteeg to the Florida Panthers for their 2012 or 2013 second round draft pick and San Jose’s 2012 third round draft pick. I would have liked to see him play with the Flyers when healthy, but it seems the organization has other plans in mind as they are now apparently clearing space for another big trade or signing. Whether it is Brad Richards or not (who the Flyers did speak to today) is unclear.