Jaromir Jagr on lockout plans, his time in Philadelphia and signing with Dallas
The Summer Olympics in London is the main event of the year. It is not a surprise that it has attracted all sorts of celebrities so far. New Dallas Star Jaromir Jagr is one of them. Just like Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, who became a pretty big tennis fan recently, Jagr was spotted around the Wimbledon tennis courts with his girlfriend, Inna. Apparently, Jagr is such a fan of tennis that some games he watched through a fence surrounding the Olympic tennis courts.
Our good friend Pavel Lysenkov sent along some pictures and a few quotes from Jagr about his summer, his plans for the possible lockout, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Stars.
"Right now I am training with HC Kladno," Jagr told Lysenkov. "I will play there if there is a lockout in the NHL… It's been a while since I last played in front of my home fans. And I also promised my father that I would play for Kladno. Besides, I am also the owner and the general manager of the team."
Jagr's move to the Flyers last summer was seen as a surprise by many. Some people, myself included, wondered if Jagr "still had it" to compete at the NHL level. He did, and he really enjoyed it in Philadelphia.
"I really liked it in Philadelphia, I wanted to stay there. But the Flyers started hunting for the big players on the market — Zach Parise, Ryan Suter. They needed some money under the cap and they said 'Wait a little, Jaromir…' And I didn't want to wait. This is when Dallas came through."
"I really liked it," Jagr repeated himself. "I played with [Claude] Giroux and [Scott] Hartnell on the same line, I was getting points. But an injury prevented me from showing everything I had. It's my own fault. During practice I did a routine that I shouldn't have."
"I have never seen a team like the Flyers. Everyone keeps together. Players understand the coach immediately. The year was such that there was nothing to complain about. We played some wonderful hockey. Just remember the series against Pittsburgh in the first round."
Asked if the move to the Stars was simply a case of money — Jagr would play only where he is getting paid more — he replied: "What does money have to do with it? Other NHL clubs offered more! It's just Dallas is ready to rely on me, promised me a spot on the top line."
Ilya Bryzgalov is set to attend the Olympic Games soon. The two now-former teammates won't meet in London, though, as Jagr is going back home to the Czech Republic this week.
"It's too bad we won't see each other here," Jagr said. "We would have talked about space!"
