Jags and the Rangers

I will always love Jaromir Jagr (set aside the snarky comments for the moment, please). Jags will forever be the talented teenager who won two Cups his first two years in the league and later fulfilled the potential he’d shown early in his career when he became widely recognized as the best player in the game.

All of which is why I was glad to see the newly minted Rangers captain appeared to show no ill effects from last season’s shoulder injury and subsequent surgery. If Jagr can continue scoring two points a game, the Rangers can cross off their captain’s play from their list of concerns. (There are other concerns the Rangers need to address, but more on those in a minute.) As a fan of hockey, and yes, as the person who’s always loved to watch Jagr play, I want him to play at his peak this season. Because, fact of the matter is, Jagr is going to turn 35 this year. Even with all the advances in modern medicine, etc, at some point, age catches up to the greatest of hockey players (witness Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman last season as cases in point). Frankly, I’d like another season of remembering Jagr as one of the best, most creative, and most productive players in hockey. I’d like to remember why he’s going to end up in the Hall of Fame. I’d like to enjoy watching him dominate games for at least one more season.

So, yes, although the Rangers play in the same division as my Penguins, I’m still pulling for Jags and the Rangers. Because unlike the young stars of my Penguins (Crosby and Malkin) whose best days are in the future, Jagr and his Rangers have a finite amount of time left to contend for the Cup—that’s just how the nature of aging works.

Just saying—it was nice to see the Rangers win their first two games, and nicer still to see Jagr pile up two points a game—and I’d like to see that continue all season.

Cause yeah, I love Jags—so what?