It comes up every single off-season and trade deadline. Let's talk Jagr. Team situation:
The Devils currently sit 7 points out of the last Wild Card spot in the East, meaning they're in an ideal position to trade any expiring contracts. Even Martin Brodeur is rumoured to be moved by the deadline, giving the Devils a seller tag on Wednesday. Contract status:
Jagr is a UFA at the end of the season, after having signed a one year contract with the Devils that paid him $2M in base salary, along with $2M in bonuses. Season Performance:
Jagr has been tearing it up for the Devils. He has 19 goals and 33 assists in 62 games, along with a team leading +18. Plus/minus is a very misleading metric, however when a player has a +18 and the closest teammate sits at +4, you can deduce that the player with the huge +- discrepancy is most likely playing quite well. Trade Value:
Judging by last year's trade deadline Jagr is worth a high end pick (late 1st, early 2nd round) and a few long-shot prospects.
The 42 year old may fetch a little more this year, seeing as how the Eastern Conference is wide open and a few teams might want to make a push. Chances Montreal trades for him:
Very low. Bergevin had the chance to sign/trade for him several times in his short tenure, and he has never pulled the trigger.
#Habs Bergevin says he spoke to Jagr and Semin's representatives (among several top 6 fwds) but didn't find any of them to be a good fit. - John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) July 2, 2012
Then there's the Jaromir side of the coin. He explicitly stated he did not want to get traded at the deadline, and even threw out a thinly veiled threat about heading back to the Czech Republic if he were to be traded:
Jagr said a team would have to talk to him about acquiring him in a trade. 'I'm 42. I might just want to go home.' http://t.co/7Jrs9EBBpv - Rich Chere (@Ledger_NJDevils) March 1, 2014 Should Montreal trade for him:
Montreal needs more scoring wingers, it's as simple as that. If they could put together a productive top 9, as opposed to relying on a top 6, they would be in much better shape.
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Not to mention eternally underrated Thomas Plekanec would finally get to play with his countryman, after years and years of being teased.
The Montreal Canadiens should try to acquire Jagr, as long as they don't sacrifice any top quality prospects to do so. This year's draft isn't expected to be very talent heavy, therefor I opine that it's the perfect time to flip some future picks for the ageless wonder. I'm generally against mortgaging the future for the present, however Montreal's pipeline is fairly well stocked in terms of prospects, and Bergevin could stand to flip an unknown asset (pick) for a known producer in Jagr.
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