The Florida Panthers have officially cut off negotiations with Jaromir Jagr's agent Petr Svoboda, thus signaling the end of the future Hall of Fame forward's fun-filled stay in South Florida, according to a source.
Jagr, 45, hinted that negotiations were dragging with a few tweets Thursday night:
"Everywhere I look, I read all free agents getting calls from 10-12 teams. Me, 0 calls. On the contrary, I'm trying to call them and no one's picking up," tweeted Jagr.
He followed that up with another one: "FA-1994, all GMs called; FA 2017 _ 0 calls."
Jagr earned a base salary of $4 million last year that was boosted to $5.5 million in bonuses. Tallon said Thursday that he has been talking to Svoboda almost on a daily basis and that the window would remain open to re-sign Jagr until October if no other team signed him.
That most likely changed Saturday when free agency hit.
"$5.5 million isn't a huge salary?" Tallon shot back Thursday when asked if money was the issue.
A source said that Svoboda's salary requests were too high. However, another source said that Jagr never received an offer from the Panthers and money was not an issue.
Despite playing with his young linemates, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov for just 23 games because of their injuries, Jagr scored 16 goals and 46 points in 82 games, just eight behind the team leader, Vincent Trocheck.
He also tied for the team lead with eight power-play goals and led with 25 even-strength assists while playing with minor leaguers and rookies such as Seth Griffith, Jared McCann and Denis Malgin for long stretches of the season.
Only Barkov (plus-21 ice rating) and Jagr (plus-2) finished with a positive plus-minus among Panthers who played more than 21 games.
Jagr's shot percentage plummeted from 18.9 percent, sixth best in the league in 2015-16 season, to a career-low 8.8 percent this past season. He attributed that to losing too much weight and strength last offseason in an effort to gain speed.
Jagr, a fan favorite, drew chants of J-A-G-R, J-A-G-R from the approximately 900 fans, many in his No. 68 Panthers' jersey, attending the Summer Summit at the BB&T Center Thursday, when a fan asked Tallon about the negotiations.
Jagr certainly served a vital purpose in mentoring several of the Panthers budding stars such as Barkov, Huberdeau, Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad as far as passing on his hockey IQ, his dedication to the sport which earned him the Masterton Trophy last season as well as his maniacal fitness regimen.
Even as the Panthers prospects were finishing up Thursday's practice at the IceDen, Jagr was pulling into the parking lot getting ready to work out inside.
The Panthers will now enter the 2016-17 season without their top three right wings after allowing the Vegas Golden Knights to pilfer Jonathan Marchessault and acquire Reilly Smith for a 2018 fourth-round draft choice. They will also be without second-line left wing Jussi Jokinen, who cleared waivers today and will be bought out, thus becoming a free agent.
That's a total of 72 goals gone from a lineup that produced 205, 23rd fewest in the NHL.
Since joining the Panthers via a trade with the Devils in February of 2015, Jagr has repeatedly set lofty milestones such as becoming the third all-time-leading goal scorer (765) behind Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894). He also became the second all-time points leader with 1,914, far behind Gretzky's 2,857.
Panthers president Matt Caldwell said that every time Jagr reached another milestone, attendance soared and his No. 68 jersey far outsells any other Panthers' jersey in their team store.
"Ever since Vinnie (Viola) bought the team we're like a younger team with a chip on our shoulder in Florida where we're here to stay. It's like we're fighting back with Jagr kind of putting us in the big boy club," Caldwell told the Sun-Sentinel in May.
"His impact has been huge," Caldwell added. "He's obviously a legend, a star and has helped us build this hockey market we've been focusing on since Vinnie bought the team. He gives us credibility because of his experience as even the casual fan knows who he is.
"He's great in the community. I always get the same questions. How old is he and how is he still playing? He's not only great in South Florida, but when we go on the road more people are interested in the brand."
In his first full season in Florida in 2015-16, Jagr became the oldest player ever to lead his team in scoring with 66 points (27 goals).
In 181 games with the Panthers he has 49 goals and 130 points.
