Before Jaromir Jagr came to the Rangers, his career was at a crossroads. After being dealt by the underachieving Penguins to the Capitals in 2001, Jaromir Jagr looked to bounce back with a winner. Things didn’t go the way he wanted. The Capitals were horrible, and opted to offload much of their high-priced talent to signal a rebuild.
In 2003, Washington spent a considerable amount of time attempting to trade Jagr, but with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on the horizon, few teams were willing to take on the $11 million risk for Jagr. Enter the New York Rangers.
On January 23, 2004, Jagr was eventually traded to the Rangers in exchange for Anson Carter, with Washington agreeing to pay approximately $4 million per year of Jagr’s salary. Additionally, Jagr deferred $1 million per year (with interest) for the remainder of his contract to facilitate the trade.
Before the 2005–06 season, the Rangers, who had missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons, underwent significant changes. Despite experts predicting them to be the worst team in the NHL after parting ways with high-priced veterans, Jagr confidently promised a surprising season and a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Jagr’s dominant performance early in the season saw him becoming only the fourth player in NHL history to score ten or more goals in less than ten games.
After the lockout, Jagr’s outstanding performance in the 2005-06 season played a pivotal role in propelling the Rangers into a significant Stanley Cup run, marking their most promising playoff appearance since 1996-97. Despite a challenging postseason with four consecutive losses, Jagr’s contributions greatly aligned with the team’s new aspirations.
In an impressive 82-game regular season, Jagr amassed 123 points (54 goals, 69 assists), shattering multiple team records previously held by Adam Graves, Jean Ratelle, and Vic Hadfield. This achievement, while remarkable, was hardly surprising for someone of Jagr’s caliber, especially on the grand stage of New York City and Madison Square Garden.
Surprisingly, hitting 123 points marked only his third-highest point total in a season, with his other 100-plus-point campaigns occurring during his time with Pittsburgh when he was considerably younger. Before the start of that season, Mark Messier had retired before training camp and the Rangers offered Jagr the captaincy, a role he eventually accepted despite initially turning it down.
Although he narrowly missed securing the Art Ross and Maurice Richard Awards that season, the league acknowledged his accomplishments differently. Jagr received his third Lester B. Pearson Award, recognizing him as the Most Valuable Player as perceived by his peers in the league.
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