There's a lot of questions about Jaromir Jagr, but for me what has changed in the Czech forwards game? Everyone says he's too old, too washed up, spent too much time away from North American Hockey - to me all these statements are complete nonsense. Take his first game back as an example - the guy sets up JVR for a beauty PP goal, and then strips the Detroit D and picked the top corner on Jimmy Howard - 1g, 1a in his first game back. Now it is only preseason, and it was only 1 game, but in my opinion nothing has changed in his game. The skill is still evident, Jagr possesses stick handling qualities that are only seen in a few players in our game. He may not be as agile as he previously was, but Jagr can still skate with the best and his stick handling skills put him right into the elite forwards in the league (like he always was). No one is expecting Jagr to play like he used too - winning MVPs, scoring races etc, but for me the expectations are high on how Jagr will perform in Philly. He is surrounded with talent upfront - Claude Giroux, James Van Riemsdyk, Danny Briere, Wayne Simmonds, Scott Hartnell etc - and this will provide the veteran Jagr plenty of room to make plays and score goals. The biggest factor for me is his ability to click with top line C Claude Giroux. Giroux is one of the best Centres in the league, especially in terms of feeding his wingers. The top line of JVR, Jagr and Giroux is going to have a huge year, as I believe Jagr will provide space for the two young forwards to play their respective games. To conclude, for those of you who don't believe in Jagr then you will just have to wait to be proven wrong. To me, Jagr has not lost a single step in his game besides obviously being slower, but the skills are still there. Look for Jagr to have a massive year in Philly.
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
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