The moment Jaromir Jagr walked into the Florida Panthers' dressing room following his trade last year from the New Jersey Devils, there was awe. This was a young team adding a player who commands universal respect anywhere he goes.
“It was pretty amazing when he came in. Guys were pretty wide-eyed. Especially us young guys who looked up to him when we were younger,” said Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad when we chatted this week. “Having him in the locker room was pretty exciting for a lot of us.”
His presence helped establish Florida’s top line with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, and Jagr deserves partial credit for getting Hurberdeau’s young career back on track.