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View Full Version : Will Mario Lemieux Ever Retire Jaromir Jagr’s Jersey?



vader29
07-29-2013, 11:17 AM
Jaromir Jagr deserves to have his Pittsburgh Penguins’ jersey retired. There are too many Penguins’ fans who do not respect Jagr enough to agree. Even after all Jagr has accomplished for the franchise, people continue to bash him even though he is the greatest player behind Mario Lemieux to throw on a Penguins’ sweater.

Keep in mind who Jagr’s idol was when he arrived on the scene as an 18 year-old. It was no coincidence why Jagr eventually became known as Mario Jr. Lemieux ran the team and influenced every major organizational decision. No matter what Lemieux wanted, he was rarely criticized as the savior of the Pens’ franchise. One theory is that Mario had a hand in the departure of legendary coach Scottie Bowman after Bowman won a Stanley Cup for the Pens. Giving Lemieux superstar treatment and freedom paved the way for Jagr to feel like he was entitled to the same liberty.

Many fans are still upset over the way Jagr acted before he left Pittsburgh. He ran the show in the Pens’ dressing room and was not an ideal captain by any means. Jagr trashed ex-Pens’ coach Kevin Constantine and the Ivan Hlinka reign was over in Jagr’s mind before Hlinka knew every players’ name on the Pens’ roster. Jagr seemed to bang heads with players and coaches on a regular basis.

The franchise was in danger of folding and Jagr was raking in dough the Pens couldn’t afford to pay. With Jagr’s attitude and lucrative contract, the time had come for the Pens to part ways with Jagr.

Regardless of what took place behind closed doors, Jagr was an integral piece in saving the Pittsburgh Penguins’ franchise. He kept the franchise afloat when he beat the number-one seeded New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 1999 playoffs all by himself. Jagr has scored 681 career NHL goals. The one that is most memorable to him is the overtime goal he scored in Game 6 against the Devils that playoff year to save the Pens from possibly moving to Kansas City.

Read more: http://thehockeywriters.com/jaromir-jagrs-jersey/

steelerdude15
07-29-2013, 12:05 PM
That's a great question... While he did many wonderful things for the organization on ice, he had a horrible attitude and felt he was the best thing since sliced bread. He also left on a really bad note and Pens fans still do not like him. Its hard to say.

86WARD
07-29-2013, 03:46 PM
Maybe after he makes his way around the rest of the NHL. Still a few more teams to play for...

Edman
07-30-2013, 09:53 PM
If it wasn't retired then, it won't be retired anytime soon.

No.

zulater
08-05-2013, 07:07 AM
The Pens thought they had a deal in place with Jagr prior to the 2011-12 season for him to return to the Pens as a player. He basically shopped that deal to the Flyers to get a better deal. Then he came back to the Pens hoping for them to one up that deal again. By doing so he probably gained an additional half million or so? But he also managed to burn that last bridge between he and the Penguins in the proccess. The Pens bargained in good faith. Jagr double dealt. As a result any chance of retiring his sweater to the rafters in the next couple decades flew out the window. Forever is a long time though. And maybe there will be a day when everyone can forgive and forget Mr "Dying Alive" paving his way out of Pittsburgh with such of degree of petulance that the Pens had no chance to recieve anything resembling fair trade value in return. So if this never happens place the blame where it belongs, and that's exclusively on no. 68.

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That's a great question... While he did many wonderful things for the organization on ice, he had a horrible attitude and felt he was the best thing since sliced bread. He also left on a really bad note and Pens fans still do not like him. Its hard to say.

To be fair his attitude wasn't a problem until his last few years in Pgh.