To steal the title of a famous James Bond movie Jaromir Jagr is headed to Russia with love, love in the form of close to 11 million dollars a year. Leaving the NHL Jagr is opening the door for a European-soccer-type landscape for both hockey and the NHL. First it was the battle over Pittsburgh star Evgeni Malkin, earlier than that the slight thought that Crosby could go oversees for more money than a NHL rookie contract and now the Russian leagues first victory.
Being a Devil's fan I am glad to see the Rangers lose both their captain and top scorer, however it did open the door to sign Markus Naslund. What I am interested in seeing is how many and if the Russian league can draw superstars from the NHL before they hit their careers twilight. Personally I like the competition between the leagues as it allows for debate and perhaps a continental shift in talent pools allowing for a more European style of play, which I enjoy to watch. Another interesting aspect of the Jagr move is the money. What's stopping an Ovechkin, Malkin, Lecavalier, Thorton or other NHL superstar from leaving for more money overseas?
Another thing I have to comment on is the Marian Hossa signing with the Redwings, I am not a Redwings fan but I must defend Hossa against the criticism that is thrown against him. Here we have a player willing to take a short term deal to win rather than take long term financial stability. To Mr. Hossa good for you, at least you didn't head to Russia for the dollars or to a low level team like Florida.
Link to the Jagr story
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hFKvtcKcVfLmwrlHLC9JBwe-6BtwD91NHVO80
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Basically, the fewer stars in the Atlantic Division for the Devils to play against, the better, eh?
Hossa's a turncoat, plain and simple.
Post a Comment