Montreal Canadiens: Do not claim Jaromir Jagr
By Omar L
Jaromir Jagr’s time in Calgary is over as the Flames placed him on waivers. As attractive as it may sound, the Montreal Canadiens shouldn’t make the claim.
If you asked me in the summer if the Montreal Canadiens should claim Jaromir Jagr off waivers at the end of January, I would say absolutely. The 45-year-old has a number of quality seasons under his belt and his recent time with the Florida Panthers was still impressive even though his best years were behind him.
A total of 16 goals and 30 assists is pretty decent considering his age and how the Panthers were using him. His skating has taken a step back, but there was a chance he could still generate some offence if used lower in the lineup. However, the Habs, as well as the rest of the NHL passed on having Jagr on their team to for the majority of the offseason.
The Calgary Flames chose to take a flyer on the ageless wonder signing him to a one-year deal on October 4th, but since then, he only dressed for 22 games putting up a goal and six assists.
Lower-body injuries kept Jagr away from the ice, and it’s got to the point where the Flames were starting to respectfully look for a way to part ways with the legend.
It finally happened as Calgary placed Jagr on waivers. According to Bob McKenzie, the goal is to at first make him available to rest of the league. If he isn’t claimed, they will mutually terminate his and he will seek playing time in Europe.
There are a handful of teams who would benefit from adding Jagr to their roster, and yes, the Habs would be one of them. However, based on where the team is and what the rest of the season will be for them, Montreal should turn the other cheek here.
Congested Line-Up
The Montreal Canadiens already have players waiting to get back into the lineup as it is. Daniel Carr has been in the press box for the last number of games as it seems Claude Julien has taken a liking to Logan Shaw on the fourth line. Additionally, Andrew Shaw was projected to return to the team after the All-Star break.
Sure the Habs have nothing to lose in adding Jagr to the system, but they would be better off giving an extra spot, if there is one, to a younger player. Nikita Scherbak has proved that he has NHL talent, and although the Laval Rocket needs him to salvage their season, it wouldn’t hurt to have him up again for a stretch of games.
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Montreal could make the appropriate changes if they did want to claim him. L. Shaw could go on waivers, get picked up himself, or go down to the AHL to boost Laval a little bit. That way Jagr could play in a more sheltered role and provide a little more offence to the bottom nine, assuming his ailments don’t hold him back.
Even still, I don’t think it’s worth it for the Habs to do it. There’s also not enough time to boost him up enough to make him a worthy trade acquisition at the deadline. As harsh as it may sound, the Montreal Canadiens need to focus on adding young talent to the organization and Jagr doesn’t fit the bill.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Would I be surprised if Marc Bergevin makes the claim? Not really, and it wouldn’t be one that I agree with. But that’s my opinion.
Do you think the Habs should claim Jagr? What could he add to the roster if they do? Let us know your thoughts down below.