Jaromir Jagr is, was, and remains Hockey Consultant’s all-time favorite hockey player. Jaromir Jagr was the first hockey player she “called” correctly. (Note: It wasn’t a difficult “call”. By “call”, she believed he would one day be the best player in the world. As an eight-year-old, she watched a rookie dominate. As a thirteen-year-old, she smiled that she had been right when she called Jagr being the best player in the world “right”.) No matter what Jagr does—even if it’s kicking her beloved Penguins out of the playoffs in a coming spring—she’ll always love him. (Hockey love, when it comes to Hockey Consultant and her all-time favorite player, is plainly irrational.)
Hockey Consultant believes she understands Jagr better than most. Jagr has always been a highly emotional player. Though Hockey Consultant was disappointed when Jagr chose not to come to Pittsburgh and rolled her eyes about the “left-handedness” of Crosby and Malkin, she ultimately felt she understand Jagr’s reasons—and emotions—for not returning to Pittsburgh. (And they weren’t actually about “left-handedness”, either.)
Fundamentally, the Penguins belong to Crosby and Malkin. If something had gone wrong—and Jagr’s been through this before, in Pittsburgh—it would have been on Jagr. It would not have been on Crosby or Malkin. Jagr didn’t want to deal with that, especially having already lived through it once (no matter how much of it he brought upon himself back in 2001).
The heart of the matter, though—beyond the basic fundamentals—was simply this: Jaromir Jagr did not want to come back to the NHL to be a complementary player on a contending team. (Honestly, this is a fit Hockey Consultant thought would be perfect for a 39-year-old player. Bookend your career with Stanley Cups as a complementary player.) Jaromir Jagr wanted to come back to the NHL to be Jaromir Jagr. To remind the league, one last time, that he’s one of the best players ever to play the game. To be the face and heartbeat of a franchise. To make an impact.
Hockey Consultant is aware of Jagr’s age. She’s also aware of Jagr’s insane work-out regimen. (To be honest, Hockey Consultant was saddened Jagr did not want to be part of the Penguins. The workout regimes of players like Crosby, Letang, and Malkin, along with their desire to be the best in the world, remind her that those kids are exactly the same as the hardworking, want-to-be-the-best-in-the-world kid a teenage Jagr once was.) She’s aware that if anyone can defy age and time and physics, it’s Jaromir Jagr (who’s been blessed to have a healthy career, save for a few annoying groin injuries).
And, to be honest, in the only flashback to her junior high years Hockey Consultant would ever want to have, she’s actually looking forward to watching Chris Pronger and Jaromir Jagr play for the same team—old men though they may be in NHL years—and see if they can still dominate. As a fan, she’s looking forward to watching the players who once were promising kids, became the best players in the world at their respective positions, and who will retire as Hall-of-Famers. She wants to see them play, and play well, for as long as possible.
Hockey Consultant gets what Jagr wanted. To say he’s, well, Jaromir Jagr. To dominate. She understands the choice. She’s not sure how the choice will turn out—she still thinks Jagr would have been more likely to grab a Stanley Cup as a complementary player, not as one of “the” guys.
Hockey Consultant tries not to let fandom make her irrational. But her fandom states this (even if she should not let her fandom inform her consulting, but a secret about life is that being a fan informs most things, even when it's pretended fandom has no impact on any thoughts or calls or decisions). Betting against Jaromir Jagr isn’t wise. If the odds are against it—don’t bet against him. (Though she notes the odds against him never before have been time and age and nature.)
But, for this one, Hockey Consultant—if and when she gets her cable and Internet installed and up—will be watching with eager eyes to see what becomes of Jaromir Jagr in 2011-12. But for now, Hockey Consultant would advise anyone—even disappointed Penguins fans who are mad at Jagr—to enjoy the fact that they can still watch, for now, one of the greatest players ever, yet again play in the NHL and who, for now and on the power play, still shows why he is the 9th leading scorer in NHL history.
Hockey Consultant’s One Sentence on Jaromir Jagr: Since even the best players ever can’t be the best forever, just enjoy watching every minute of Jagr’s NHL time while you can…and if you’re actually IN the game, then take the time to learn from playing against or playing with one of the greatest players of all time.
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