End of an era: Jagr’s time in Florida is over
Jaromir Jagr gave the Florida Panthers some star power, helped them win a division championship and unquestionably played a role in energizing what had been a stagnant fan base.
And now his tenure with the Panthers is over.
Making official what was suspected for some time, the Panthers revealed Saturday that they are going forward without the future sure-fire Hall of Fame forward. On a day dominated by free-agent signings — like adding forwards Evgeny Dadonov, Radim Vrbata and Micheal Haley — the biggest news out of Florida was that Jagr is no longer in the Panthers’ plans.
“I can’t say enough. It was an honour to be touched by a legend,” said general manager Dale Tallon, who ultimately made the call to move on. “I was torn. It was a tough couple weeks, or months, whatever it was. Can’t thank him enough. What he did for our kids, for myself and everyone in this organization, you can’t measure it.”