Jaromir Jagr turned 42 in February. If he was your average professional athlete, his career would have been long over right now. We all know he is not, which is why Jagr still managed to have an extremely productive season with the New Jersey Devils this year, scoring 24 goals and notching 43 assists. Why wouldn’t they want him back?
On Tuesday, Jagr told iSport that he has a verbal agreement in place with the Devils and will return to New Jersey next season. His agent Petr Svoboda later confirmed the news.
“Absolutely. The deal is very very close but it’s not finalized yet,” Svoboda told Rich Chere of The Star-Ledger. “Lou (Lamoriello) will let you know as soon as it’s complete.”
The Devils missed the playoffs by two points this season, finishing with the 9th-best record in the Eastern Conference. Jagr enjoyed playing for coach Peter DeBoer and told iSport that he “understands hockey” and has the ability to take the Devils even further next season.
Assuming he does come back, the 2014-2015 season will be Jagr’s 21st. He has over 700 goals and 1,000 assists in his Hall of Fame career. He also played in all 82 games for the Devils this season. Don’t be surprised if Jagr sticks around for another two or three years.
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