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spt_Jagr[i-1].body = "Selected fifth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 1990 draft class which included the likes of Owen Nolan, Mike Ricci, Petr Nedved and Keith Primeau, Jagr rose to be the cream of that crop.
He won Stanley Cups with the Penguins in each of his first two seasons and American fans grew to admire his principles as much as his impressive puckhandling skills. Jagr wears No. 68 because it’s the year that the Soviet union invaded his homeland, the former Czechoslovakia and imprisoned his grandfather. As a youngster, he carried a photo of then-United States president Ronald Reagan, because it was Reagan who was in power when the Berlin Wall fell, bringing about an end to communism in Eastern Europe and opening the doors of freedom to people
like Jagr.
On the ice, Jagr often carried along in a class by himself, winning five scoring titles, four in succession. But then came austerity in Pittsburgh and an ill-fated trade to the Washington Capitals. Obstruction ran rampant through the NHL, taking the life out of hockey and the desire to compete out of stars such as Jagr, who
were forced to constantly endure muggings from lesser players.
The game was no longer fun and Jagr played like a man who clearly wasn’t enjoying himself. Even a trade to the New York Rangers didn’t alter his malaise.
Then came the lockout, a chance to go home and finally, the opportunity to roam free once more in the new NHL, where the shackles were taken off the stars and creativity was again in vogue.
Jagr embraced this concept and rediscovered the joy of hockey, as evidenced by the season he’s enjoyed with the Broadway Blueshirts.
The Rangers ended a playoff drought which extended back to 1996-97 riding the back of their captain, who rewrote the club’s record book, finishing just shy of his sixth NHL scoring title.
Follow along as NBCSports.com contributor Bob Duff takes you inside Jagr's resurgence.";
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When Jagr was dealt away by the Penguins, the move came after he was publicly called out by owner-teammate Mario Lemieux, who questioned Jagr’s commitment to the game during’s run to the 2000-01 Eastern Conference finals.
Jagr was coming off his fourth consecutive scoring title, but barely averaged a point a game with the Capitals, collecting 201 points in 190 games prior to his Jan. 23, 2003 trade to the Rangers.
“Everybody was saying I am not the same player, but I always believed in myself,” Jagr said. “I still feel like I could play good hockey.
“I always wanted to play in New York and when I had a chance last year, there was the lockout.”";
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While never as vocal in his criticism of the old, obstructed-view NHL as was his longtime Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux, Jagr was a proponent of the need for change in the game to open it up for the skilled players and allow the NHL’s stars to be the star of the show.
“I never minded the physical stuff along the boards,” Jagr said. “I actually kind of like it, because I feel like I’m strong enough to handle it.
“The hooking and holding though, that kind of stuff, it was a lot before. If you beat somebody by one step, he just hooked you and all of a sudden, he’s beating you,” he added. “I’m glad they started calling that. They’ve been calling that all season and hopefully, they’re going to do it in the playoffs, too.”
Jagr has embraced all of the game’s changes, from the crackdown on obstruction to the removal of the red line.
“When you play the game, when you watch it on TV, I think it’s a more exciting game,” Jagr said. “It’s more skating and up-and-down hockey.
“For offensive players, you can get more scoring chances and shots. Plus, the offensive zone is a lot bigger and it is better on power plays.”";
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While many veteran NHLers opted to take the 2004-05 season off while embroiled in the labor dispute resulting from the owner-induced lockout that scuttled the entire campaign, Jagr returned home to shine in front of his Czech compatriots, collecting 28 points in 17 games with HC Rabat Kladno, then jumped over to Russia to star in the best league outside of the NHL, garnering 38 points in 32 games for Avangard Omsk and leading all playoff scorers with 14 points in 11 games. Then he helped the Czech Republic win the World Championship.
His performance earned him athlete-of-the-year recognition in the Czech Republic.
“The lockout helped me a lot,” Jagr said. “I was able to play in the Czech Republic and in Russia.
“The same routine for 14 years, I’m saying it was getting tired, but it’s probably mentally tiring a little bit.
When you play in Europe, you can do anything you want. You can relax, but you still play hockey.”";
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When he first arrived in New York, Jagr could see there were problems.
“Sometimes, too much is not too good,” Jagr said. “I feel like there were so many skills, so many superstars on one team and there’s no one for the third or fourth lines.
“There were players who were playing on third or fourth lines who were supposed to be first or second-line players. That’s never going to work.
“You know those superstars, if you want them to play the way they can play, you have to give them ice time. If you have 15 of them on the same team, you cannot give everybody 20 minutes or more of ice time. And if you don’t give it to them, they’re not going to be effective.”
Jagr saw a new look to the Rangers when he arrived this fall for training camp and it brought the old Jagr out of his shell.
The Jagr of old is the guy wearing that No. 68 sweater for the Rangers. He’s dangling late in the attacking zone, waiting to pounce on turnovers, muscling past defenders with his pure strength, finding seams and shooting from every angle.
He’s also hard on himself and his teammates. He wants the puck, he wants to produce and he wants to score.
Jagr was among the minority when he preached at the start of the season that this Rangers squad would be the one to end the club’s pos-season drought.
So what did he see that others missed?
“I knew what kind of players we’ve got on the team,” Jagr said. “There were five or six of our players who played at the World Championships in Vienna. Mike Nylander was there and Henrik Lundqvist, with Sweden, so I knew we were going to have a good goaltender.
“I didn’t know anybody from our third or fourth lines, but those guys, they proved themselves to me in training camp. I felt like if that was the way they were going to play in training camp, then we should have no problem making the playoffs.
“Plus, the whole organization here in New York, They help you with everything. They just make sure you play the best hockey you can,” Jagr said. “The chemistry on the team is great. It’s been fun so far for everybody here.”";
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The Rangers have gone out of their way to accommodate Jagr, because history shows a happy Jaromir is a productive Jaromir. The Rangers go seven deep in Czechs -- Martin Rucinsky, Martin Straka, Michal Rozsival and Marek Malik were added as free agents, rookie Petr Prucha was signed to a contract and Petr Sykora was acquired
in a deal with Anaheim, all of the moves partly dedicated to keeping the petulant Jagr a happy camper.
“Of course it helps you,” Jagr said. “Even if we like it here in America, it is still a different country.
“You feel a lot better, I think it’s more comfortable and it’s better for the hockey. I don’t know if it’s helped my game, but I’m having a lot of fun and one reason is because I can speak my own language.”";
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With five scoring titles, Jagr trails only Wayne Gretzky (10) and Gordie Howe (six) when it comes to personal Art Ross Trophy collections. He’ll likely be selected as the right winger on the NHL’s First All-Star team, which would be his seventh selection, trailing only Howe (12) and Maurice (Rocket) Richard (six).
Jagr’s rebound is indicated in that it would be his first selection to the team since 2000-01 and the five-year gap between first all-star appearances would be second only to the six-year gap (1949-50 to 1955-56) recorded by Richard.
Likewise, should Jagr be awarded the Hart Trophy as MVP of the NHL, the
seven seasons between Hart wins by him would be the second-longest gap between such an honor. Jean Beliveau won his first Hart in 1955-56 and his second in 1963-64, an eight-season span.
Jagr became the leading goal (54) and point (123) scorer in Rangers history this season, taking Jean Ratelle’s long-standing mark of 109 points off the books, a record which had stood since 1971-72. He also wiped out the 52-goal mark established by Adam Graves in 1993-94. Interestingly, the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1971-72 and won the Cup in 1993-94.
Overall, Jagr moved from 24th to 16th on the NHL’s all-time goals list with 591, passing the likes of Stan Mikita, Joe Sakic, Richard, Michel Goulet, Ron Francis, John Bucyk, Guy Lafleur and Mike Bossy in the process. Jagr jumped from 26th to 13th on the career points charts with 1,431, leaving Dave Andreychuk, Gilbert Perreault, Mike Gartner, Lafleur, Bucyk, Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, Jari Kurri, Dale Hawerchuk, Doug Gilmour, Adam Oates and Bryan Trottier in his dust.
“I’ve always thought he’s been the best player in the league all year long,” said NHL scoring leader and San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton, who figures to be Jagr’s chief competition for the Hart Trophy. “He’s just so patient, so strong and with a deadly shot.
“I love watching him play. His track record shows he’s one of the best players of all time -- just a great, great player.”";
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Jagr is living large and loving life in the Big Apple and he shares that love with long-suffering Rangers fans, who are savoring every minute of this special season.
At the end of each home game at Madison Square Garden, Jagr leads the club to center ice, where they raise their sticks and salute the crowd.
“You play for the fans,” Jagr said. “You need them to win hockey games. You need their support. You want to tell them you appreciate them coming to the game and cheering for you.
“This is our way to say, ‘Thank you’ for the hockey game.”
They love it. Jagr loves it.
“When I came here, you know, I think we’ve got a pretty exciting team,” Jagr said. “We have a lot of new guys with the new coaches and so far, everything works together. I don’t think it’s only me. I think every player, the whole organization, is having a lot of fun.
“I always have fun. I had fun in Washington, too. Maybe people didn’t see it, but I had fun. But sometimes, you have more fun.”
Based on the twinkle in his eye and the dangle back in his step, for Jagr, this would be one of those times."; // END editorial data