Now that the Jaromir Jagr trade is four days old and some in the local media have had ample opportunity to finish twisting their knives in his back on the way out of town, I thought I'd throw in my two cents. But I warn: You might be shocked ...
I get along with him.
Really.
This might seem unfathomable if you have read or heard recent accounts depicting Jagr as some sort of terror with the local media. But, without daring to speak for anyone else, I have nothing but good things to say about my dealings with him in five years on the NHL beat for this newspaper.
No, Jagr and I are not friends. That sort of thing doesn't happen between reporters and the subjects they are paid to cover.
And yes, I have been critical of Jagr. I have described him in print as "childish," "petulant" and "wildly emotional." I have detailed his awful performances with no less zest than I have used to detail his virtuoso ones.
But somehow, through it all, we maintained a professional, cordial relationship.
When Jagr had a problem with something I wrote, he would wait for a private moment and tell me, politely, that he disagreed. We talked until we cleared the air.
When he didn't feel like being interviewed, whether it was because of his moodiness or my lousy sense of timing, he would quietly shake me off. In the process, he usually apologized. Once, he changed his mind five minutes after a rejection, ran out of the Southpointe practice rink and drove his car to catch up with me to ask what I wanted.
When he did answer my questions, no matter how tough or stupid they were, he almost invariably would give an answer that was insightful, unpredictable and, above all, honest.
That latter quality, ironically, was the one that would get him into the most hot water here. He is unfailingly truthful, with himself and others, and he often blurts out things he might be wiser to keep to himself. But if honesty is his greatest sin, it certainly is an admirable one.
To be sure, Jagr does find fault with the Pittsburgh media. That's become obvious in the past two months, during which he has gone out of his way to make it a key issue in what made him want to leave Pittsburgh. He felt his on-ice shortcomings were magnified, that his off-ice personality was misrepresented, and he remains bitter about that.
But to paint Jagr as having had an acrimonious relationship with the local media is unfair.
Icy chips
The Islanders remain intensely interested in acquiring Darius Kasparaitis, but they might not be able to do so. They are unwilling to part with Eric Cairns, and they already have traded away two other young defensemen, Zdeno Chara and Mathieu Biron, so they have little left that the Penguins want.
George McPhee, the Capitals' general manager, did not call Jagr's agent, Mike Barnett, to ask about a contract extension until nearly 24 hours after the trade. This despite Craig Patrick's invitation to all suitors to negotiate an extension before completing a trade. Even if Jagr signs and this doesn't backfire on McPhee -- Jagr can be an unrestricted free agent in 2003 -- consider that McPhee also might have gotten Jagr much cheaper had he finished the extension before the deal. Jagr acknowledged being "anxious" to be moved, and he might have been more willing to sign a low offer from the Capitals if he felt it would seal the trade.
Did you know that Jagr and Peter Bondra have scored the most goals in the NHL since the start of the 1993-94 season? Jagr has 346, Bondra 305. Trouble for Washington is how to make the best use of both, since both are right wingers. Jagr expects to be on the ice with Bondra only on power plays.
The handwringing about disparity in NHL payrolls isn't confined to Pittsburgh. In Ottawa, they lost Alexei Yashin to the Islanders, and the Senators' season-ticket sales are down 1,000 from this point a year ago. In Edmonton, they lost Doug Weight to the Blues. In Buffalo, they lost Dominik Hasek to the Red Wings. Those teams are offering their fans much the same consolations Patrick tried Wednesday -- to just be patient -- but there is little anyone can say when the best player in a trade goes the other way.
Trent Cull, a solid, physical defenseman in Wilkes-Barre last season, signed a two-way deal with Minnesota. He had been an unrestricted free agent. He's only 27, so he might get a look from Jacques Lemaire.
Is there a better success story in the NHL than the rebirth of big-time hockey in Minnesota? The Wild announced this week that its season-ticket base has topped 16,000. All 41 games in its inaugural season were sellouts.
The Maple Leafs revealed after the fact that they were one of the teams that inquired about Jagr, although they made only one phone call. Bill Watters, assistant to the president, told the Toronto Sun his team didn't have enough top prospects to suit Patrick. "Our Kris Beech is Brad Boyes," Watters said, referring to Toronto's top pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. "And we don't have a Michal Sivek."
Despite falling short of Jagr, the Rangers still might not go after Eric Lindros. General Manager Glen Sather threw out a hint last week that Lindros' history of concussions has him worried. If New York wouldn't part with its top young talent for Jagr, it won't do so for Lindros.
Stop if you've heard this one: Patrick Lalime disagrees with his employer on how much he should be paid. After shining in the Ottawa net last season for $550,000, he wants to quadruple that. The Senators' qualifying offer was for $1 million.
Would you believe the Canadiens are one of six teams to contact Barnett about Brett Hull? Apparently, the team's new American owner, George Gillet, wants to make friends fast. Since Mario Lemieux's initial inquiry, the Penguins have had no contact with Hull.
Washington owner Ted Leonsis isn't the only one raising ticket prices after raising his payroll. The Blues, whose payroll has soared from $35 million to $54 million in the past eight months while the team has lost $24 million, will raise prices by 9 percent. Until there is significant national television revenue, this is how it will work in the NHL: Big contracts get passed on to the paying customers.
Priceless reaction to the Capitals landing Jagr from Coach Ron Wilson, as told to the Washington Post: "I don't think I've ever been so excited, honest to God. ... This kid next to me on the golf course goes, 'What happened?' And I go, 'We traded for Jaromir Jagr.' And he goes, 'I know who Jaromir Jagr is.' This kid was from Greenville, North Carolina. ... I went over and changed my name tag to say 'Jaromir Jagr's new coach.' "
Only 78 days until the puck drops between Lemieux and Joe Sakic.
Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com
Jagr was professional in his dealings with at least one reporter 
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