Jagr Not in Shootout Again

[DarkStar50 679]

Jagr opted out of last night's shootout in Devils game. This is not the first time he has done this. I know his shoulder is not 100% but my question is: If Jagr was on a breakaway with a minute to go in the game, would he stop and look to pass?

I don't want to sound like its Jagr bashing time but the Captain has to take a few of these shootout attempts this deep in the season. Time is running out on the Rangers.

[KYHockey3 0]

maybe he just doesnt like the pressure.

i mean i wouldnt like winning the game to come down to me.

he probably just doesnt feel comfterble with his less then %100 shoulder

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

His shoulder is just an excuse. It looks fine during the games, and he was whistling some heavy shots in the warmups when we were right behind the net for the caps/rags game.

He doesn't like the criticism, and in the shootout, you either score or miss, there is no D man to blame for lifting your stick or blocking a shot, there is no teammate to blame for fanning on your pass.

Don't get me wrong, Jagr has supreme talents, but he demonstrated in DC that he is not a leader, just having more points than anyone else on the team does not a leader make.

He does not inspire others to play better, or stick up for them. I would say (before he went down), players would have looked to Shannahan for leadership/inspiration before Jagr.

As in any topic to do with Jagr, I have to put my disclaimer in.I am a caps fan and I hate him, and wish him failure, but I still think my comments are valid.

[Thockey17 1]

Suck it up and stop being a pussy. He can play the whole game, but cant skate in and make a move lasting all of 5-10seconds?

The shoulder is just a terrible excuse. Jagr with a 25% shoulder is still better than 50% of the league at 100%.

[Vapor 0]

His shoulder is just an excuse. It looks fine during the games, and he was whistling some heavy shots in the warmups when we were right behind the net for the caps/rags game.

His shoulder does not look fine. It looks nowhere close to as good as it has in the past, his shot is not close to as powerfull as it use to be. Now that aside, he is the captin of a team who needs every point they can get, he should be out there no matter what. That is rediculous that he is not participating. Besides, you dont have to take a hard shot, your shoulder isnt too involved in dekeing. Bring back Kelly Kisio

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

His shoulder is just an excuse. It looks fine during the games, and he was whistling some heavy shots in the warmups when we were right behind the net for the caps/rags game.

His shoulder does not look fine. It looks nowhere close to as good as it has in the past, his shot is not close to as powerfull as it use to be. Now that aside, he is the captin of a team who needs every point they can get, he should be out there no matter what. That is rediculous that he is not participating. Besides, you dont have to take a hard shot, your shoulder isnt too involved in dekeing. Bring back Kelly Kisio

He is tied 9th in scoring, he is averaging over 20 minutes on the ice.

If he can do that, he can surely go one on one for a shootout, he doesn't have to wind up a slapper, he can deke, snap off a wrister etc, which he has been doing on the ice, god knows he made the caps look stupid last week.

He is just being what he is, heartless and not a leader, just a scorer

[Vapor 0]

You just said exactly what I said, try reading. If he is being a scorer, why would he go into the shootout and try to...score? Jagr is not a goal scorer, he is a playmaker.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Jagr is 13th on the ALL TIME GOALS SCORED list, with 621, how the hell can you say he is not a goal scorer.

Peter bondra is a pure goal scorer, no one will ever accuse him of being a playmaker, and he has 118 goals less than Jagr.

Look, I understand you are a rags fan, thats fine, but seriously, make some sense

[Vapor 0]

Just because you score goals dosent make you a goal scorer. Are you going to tell me Gretzky was a goal scorer? No of course not, he is a playmaker. Playmakers can score too. Bure, Ovechkin, Federov, those are goal scorers. Playmakers create their own oppurtunities and work hard. Look at JJs stats this year, he has 2x the amount of assists as he does goals. He is definitley not a pure goalscorer, not even close. You saw him in DC and your telling me hes a goalscorer? You are mistaken.

[DarkStar50 679]

Smokey,

Your Jagr fires burn deep! Its a good thing you weren't around Washington for the Bobby Carpenter years although I think you would have liked Dennis Maruk.

Jagr needs to take the shot. The Rangers need Jagr to take the shot!!

Jagr does have a ton of assists in his career. My bad. His assists this year are higher than goals due to his bum shoulder.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Just because you score goals dosent make you a goal scorer. Are you going to tell me Gretzky was a goal scorer? No of course not, he is a playmaker. Playmakers can score too. Bure, Ovechkin, Federov, those are goal scorers. Playmakers create their own oppurtunities and work hard. Look at JJs stats this year, he has 2x the amount of assists as he does goals. He is definitley not a pure goalscorer, not even close. You saw him in DC and your telling me hes a goalscorer? You are mistaken.

I did not say he was a pure goalscorer. You said he was not a goal scorer.

I then compared him to someone who is considered a pure goal scorer, and said, he has scored more than him.

He is a playmaker, no doubt, but he is also a goal scorer.

He needs to take the shot, his shoulder is a lame excuse for a no heart muppet.

And darkstar, yes, the fire burns deep :lol:

[DMBeer41 0]

I don't know all the players strengths or anything, but Jagr doesn't seem like a shootout guy. Sure, he can get around a D man and use his size to get through traffic, but I think there are better breakaway type guys on the team, including straka and prucha.

Prucha had Brodeur fooled last night, just missed his mark. I felt so bad for him, 'cause he knew he had him beat too.

[hockechamp14 0]

Jagr has good hands, but if the goalies know they don't have to worry about his shot, because it will either be weak or he won't take it, it gives him a pretty good chance of not scoring.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Are Rags fans starting to experience what Pitts and Caps fans already knew? When the ship starts sinking so does he?

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Are Rags fans starting to experience what Pitts and Caps fans already knew? When the ship starts sinking so does he?

I don't know if thats the case, but....for caps fans, he sunk the ship, him and Cassidy

[hockeyherb 1]

Just because you score goals dosent make you a goal scorer. Are you going to tell me Gretzky was a goal scorer? No of course not, he is a playmaker. Playmakers can score too. Bure, Ovechkin, Federov, those are goal scorers. Playmakers create their own oppurtunities and work hard. Look at JJs stats this year, he has 2x the amount of assists as he does goals. He is definitley not a pure goalscorer, not even close. You saw him in DC and your telling me hes a goalscorer? You are mistaken.

Is Nylander a goal scorer? He takes the shootout and does a good job. No reason Jagr couldn't have pulled off the move that Nylander did last night.

The announcers during the game called it a 'mental' thing with Jagr. I don't know - if you're one of the highest paid players in the game and your team needs you to score, you just have to suck it up. If he truly is a bad shootout guy, like Shaq can't shoot a free throw, then I can live with that. But nobody here has stated that he's historically not good at shootouts so no free pass there.

[Chadd 916]

If you don't have confidence in yourself, you aren't going to be good in the shootout.

[hockeyherb 1]

If you don't have confidence in yourself, you aren't going to be good in the shootout.

I just don't believe Jagr has the luxury to say that to his coaches though. It's passing the buck to the rest of his team.

[mack 44]

When does their captain get off of IR?

[Gongshow11 1]

If you don't have confidence in yourself, you aren't going to be good in the shootout.

the guy obv has confidence in himself, he tried dangling at least three player sin close last night. He is a gutless player, and should be shooting.

[Eazy_b97 1]

My best player having no confidence in himself wouldn't really motivate me as a fan. Injuries or not, he has to be thinking I am going to do this and make it happen.

[supahdon 0]

The Rangers have capable shootout guys. Cullen was 6/9 last year, Nylander 5/11, while Jagr was 2/8. A guy like Kovalchuk seems like he should be awesome at the shootout, but he's 1/13 career.

[hockeyherb 1]

Thanks for posting that!

Part of what he said was my point...if Jagr truly isn't one of the better shootout guys then I can understand him not being a top 3 guy. I guess the way the broadcast made it look last night they were almost calling him out on the spot for not stepping up.

PS Chilling sig by the way! Must remember to move back to Canada in 2008.

[SickLife 2]

he's not the best guy in alone on a goalie, i think most ranger fans know that now. hell, he hasn't scored a power play goal in 25+ games now.

prucha has proven himself (mostly last year) to be good in shootouts. hossa won the last one against the devs, & has been hot lately. & nylander is clutch.

it's all about hands, jagr is a big body who can hang onto the puck, & has a great shot. he's not a shootout guy.

[MDE3 0]

Just because you score goals dosent make you a goal scorer. Are you going to tell me Gretzky was a goal scorer? No of course not, he is a playmaker. Playmakers can score too. Bure, Ovechkin, Federov, those are goal scorers. Playmakers create their own oppurtunities and work hard. Look at JJs stats this year, he has 2x the amount of assists as he does goals. He is definitley not a pure goalscorer, not even close. You saw him in DC and your telling me hes a goalscorer? You are mistaken.

LOLOL...sorry to jack this thread...but I need to set the record straight.... Obviously you never saw Gretzky play in his hayday...."not a goal scorer"....ROFL....only the greatest goal scorer of all time...it's just that besides being a goal scorer, he was also an incredible set up man which simply made him even more awesome to watch play....you do not post NINE 50+ goal seasons in the NHL in your first 10 seasons, scoring 680 goals in 790 games without being considered a "goal scorer"...in his later years his deteriorated physical condition(back) took him off his scoring, but he continued to play in a severly limited capacity (physically). However his incredible vision still allowed him to be a great playmaker.

As to Jagr....here is a player near the end of his career, who has most definitely been both a tremendous play maker and scorer..With moves that became famous to all youth players in the early nineties..."The Jagr" and " The Lemieux" were mandatory moves for respect on the local rinks...

There is no doubt that his limited physical capacity has hurt his play this year, just as his pulled groin did when he was in DC and took all that flack.....A groin injury is one of the most difficult injuries for a hockey player to come back from btw....

Just look at his drop off in the scoring race in the past 6 - 7 weeks....of course he is hurting..and in fact as has been said..giving others who he feels have a better chance of putting the puck in the net, a shot at doing so. His personality is such that he always seems "surly" and has a hard time appealing to fans when he talks....but his pride in his own game, must be driving him nuts to play at 50% as it would seem is the case now...Keep in mind that lot's of other players might not be playing at all or missing half the games(Forsberg?). Easy to critcize when you aren't in the other guy's shoes.(skates)