Jagr experiment paying off for Holmgren, Giroux

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By Chris DiFrancesco, Phila Phans’ Flyers beat writer

It wasn’t too long ago when fans around Philadelphia and its suburbs questioned the acquisition of the 39-year old Jaromir Jagr. Well, with 21 points in as many games, GM Paul Holmgren doesn’t look too bad now, does he?

Not in the least.

Through the 21 games Jagr has played he has registered eight goals and 21 points. Not to mention, he has done wonders playing mentor for the NHL’s second leading scorer, Claude Giroux.

“At 39 and spending three years out of the league I didn’t expect him to hit the ground running the way he has,” said Flyers broadcaster Jim Jackson. “It’s tremendous.

“I did expect him to give them a boost on the power and on the offensive side and he has.”

What has really surprised Jackson is Jagr’s work ethic off the ice. Throughout Jagr’s illustrious career critics had hammered his off-ice effort to either stay in shape or be a solid teammate for his club.

“His approach has been phenomenal,” Jackson said. “I never realized how dedicated he’s been with his workout regimen. It’s a surprise to me because I never knew that he was that much of a hard worker.”

Jagr has surprised many naysayers with not just his scoring ability, but how quick he’s developed a unique chemistry with Giroux and even Scott Hartnell.

“You never knew or had any idea if he’d have chemistry with other players and it turns out he does with Giroux and Hartnell,” Jackson added.

Giroux, 23, has rapidly become one of the league’s biggest superstars and in the same breath a leader.

“He became a top forward for our club,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “With more age and more experience and more opportunity, he is really starting to show exactly what his game and how good it is.

“Some players, who with their experience and with their maturity, they will continue to take steps and that’s when it starts to weed down to a few select players and for me, Claude is one of those players.”

When Jagr was brought in it was glaringly obvious he was going to be paired with Giroux. Within the first couple weeks of training camp Jagr compared Giroux’s skills to those of hockey hall of famer, Mario Lemieux.

“Giroux had plenty of points in the four games Jagr missed. In fact, I think it’s been more Giroux helping Jagr than the other way around, If I dare say that,” said Jackson.

“[Giroux] was the Flyers best player last year and that was without Jagr. It’s not so much Jagr or Giroux carrying each other, but Giroux can carry his own weight because he’s such a tremendous player. He has the ability to carry a team on his shoulders and he’s proven that. They both help each other and it’s shown.”

It now seems virtually each time both Giroux and Jagr hit the ice together chances are something magical has the possibility of occurring.

This was the vision of the organization when it decided to move forward without cornerstone players in Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. With 32 points already, Giroux is on pace for 105 points.

This progression doesn’t all lead back to Jagr, however, Jagr’s appearance on the ice takes pressure off Giroux that maybe would’ve been heavier have Jagr not been as productive as he has been.

Jagr has been a catalyst in Giroux’s MVP-type season through 25 games. One can assume as the season progresses both Jagr and Giroux will get better, their chemistry will strengthen, and the points will be abundant.

Enjoy the show.

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Posted by Chris DiFrancesco on Dec 7 2011. Filed under Breaking News, Chris DiFrancesco, Featured News, Flyers/NHL, NHL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.