The Florida Panthers acquired forward Jaromir Jagr from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2015 and a conditional third-round draft pick in 2016.
Jagr has 11 goals and 18 assists in 57 games with the Devils this season. The Panthers have struggled to score goals all season and the addition of the future Hall of Famer should help improve a minus-24 goal differential.
The condition on third-round selection is the Devils having the option of deciding which of Florida’s two third rounders they want. It will either be Florida’s original pick, or the one they received from the Minnesota Wild in the Sean Bergenheim trade.
The 43-year-old wasn’t happy with the recent ice-time — or lack thereof — he had been getting in New Jersey and got his wish by being moved to another Eastern Conference team even though he never explicitly requested a trade.
With plenty of cap space to burn, the Panthers did not require the Devils to retain any money on Jagr’s contract, which expires at the end of the season. The Devils were, however, on the hook for a $2-million games-played bonus that Jagr earned when he hit 45 games.
The Panthers are the eighth team Jagr has been on in his NHL career. He has also suited up for the Penguins, Capitals, Rangers, Flyers, Stars, Bruins and Devils.
In 1,530 career regular season NHL games, Jagr has 716 goals, 1,068 assists for 1,784 points and is currently just one goal away from tying Phil Esposito for fifth place on the all-time list.