When the NHL free agency officially started this offseason, Penguins fans everywhere had their eyes fixated on one man. Blogs were giving updates; “The Pens Blog” did a radio show and even pretended to be Ron Cook when calling Agent Petr Svoboda and the Twitter phenomenon known as #jagrwatch was in full-effect. The NHL world waited to see whether or not Jaromir Jagr was coming back home to Pittsburgh where he enjoyed his glory years in the 1990’s.
All signs pointed on Jagr signing in Pittsburgh and the fans were ready to forgive him for his ugly departure when he demanded to leave Pittsburgh. Forgive and forget was the mindset of Penguins fans. That was, until the unforeseeable happened. Not only did Jagr not sign with the Penguins, but he signed to the much hated Philadelphia Flyers for a one-year deal worth $3.3 million. As Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review correctly put it, “Our city has 446 bridges, and one of its greatest athletes just burned them all.”
Jagr said money wasn’t the reason for signing with the Flyers and that he wanted to play on a team that had a chance to win it all. Malarkey. Money was the motive for Jagr taking his talents to Philadelphia. Flyers fans know it, Penguins fans know it, hell, even Jagr himself knows it. When the signing was announced, Jagr instantly joined Barry Bonds, Sid Bream, Dale Hunter, Tom Brady and Ryan Braun amongst the most hated athletes in Pittsburgh.
Lost in all of the Jagr talk was the departure of Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals hero Max Talbot. Talbot, as you remember, had two goals in the finale and led the Penguins to their Stanley Cup win over the Detroit Red Wings. Penguins had the choice of keeping Talbot or Pascal Dupuis in free agency. The Pens made Talbot an offer, but he declined. It was then announced that Talbot agreed to join the Flyers for five years and $9 million. Talbot looked at the move as a business move. Penguins fans however, were torn between feeling betrayed and still loving the man who made “Superstar Treatment” a household motto.
Once these signings became official, the fans circled the biggest game of the calendar year, Dec. 29 at the Consol Energy Center against the Flyers. These teams have hated each other in the past, but signing two of Pittsburgh’s sports heroes took the rivalry to a whole new level. With the wait over and game day finally here, the question is how will Penguins fans react to Jagr and Talbot when they are announced? When Marian Hossa visited Pittsburgh Dec. 20, fans booed him every time he touched the puck. Fans hate Hossa, but the animosity towards Jagr is greater than anything Hossa could ever do.
For Jagr, I fully expect the boo-birds each time he touches the puck. As for Talbot, I expect a mixed reaction when he is announced. I don’t expect the standing ovation that Sergei Gonchar received when visiting Pittsburgh for the first time as a member of the Ottawa Senators, but I do expect many fans to show their support and gratitude for what Talbot has done in the past for the Penguins. It was a wise move on his part as even Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma asked Talbot on HBO’s 24/7, “So you’re a goal scorer now?” Talbot has elevated his game offensively as he has nine goals through 35 games. His career high in goals for a season is 13 for the Penguins in their 2006-2007 campaign.
Fans spend their hard earned money on the tickets for this game and they have the right to express themselves. There is a difference between tasteful heckling and distasteful heckling however. To take a line from the great Ron Burgundy, “Stay classy Pittsburgh.”
Photo Credits: nhlsnipers.com
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