The Pittsburgh Penguins will retire former star forward Jaromir Jagr's No. 68 on Sunday, and he will remain a local fan favorite despite taking a swipe at the organization he was with more than a dozen years ago first two games of his career winning the Stanley Cup.
In an interview with the website NHL.com, the Czech, who celebrated his 52nd birthday on Thursday, explained the reasons why he decided to sign a one-year, $3.3 million contract with the Flyers in the summer of 2011. Philadelphia, the big rival of the “Pens” in the state of Pennsylvania. However, Pittsburgh had made him an offer and he could have returned home after a three-year stay in the Continental League.
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However, his decision was very legitimate, at least on an individual level.
“If I had chosen Pittsburgh, and I understand that, Sidney [Crosby] would have had his trio, [Evgeni] Malkin would have had his too. So at best I would have ended up on a third or fourth line. I don't think I would have benefited from the opportunity to prove I could play. That was my only concern,” he admitted.
“I chose Philadelphia because they had done big deals with Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. New people were there and I felt like I would get a chance because the team was completely different. If I hadn’t succeeded, it would have been my fault because I wouldn’t have been good enough.”
Coincidence or not, the two teams crossed swords in a pretty heated duel in the first round of the 2012 playoffs. Jagr and the Flyers had the upper hand in six meetings. In the regular season, the striker collected 54 points in 73 games. The following year he signed with the Dallas Stars.