Thursday, January 17, 2008

Milbury: Jagr the Problem

According to Lynn Zinser at Slap Shot, during a conference call in preparation of NBC's Ranger-Bruin game this Sunday former New York Islander General Manager Mike Milbury blames Jaromir Jagr for the Rangers' struggles...

With the Rangers playing so far under expectations, it is natural that much of the criticism is leveled at their captain, Jaromir Jagr.

But for Mike Milbury, the NBC broadcaster and former Islanders coach, it is always time to criticize Jagr. He warmed up for the first NBC game of the week by singling Jagr out for blame, which comes as no surprise because even when the Rangers are not struggling, it is a favorite topic of Milbury’s.

"The Rangers’ problem is Jagr,” Milbury said in a conference call. “He has to carry so much responsibility and his psyche is so fragile. At times he’s been missing his buddy Nylander or can’t find chemistry with somebody else, but he’s one of those guys that demands constant attention from the coaches, and you wonder whether it’s worth it. He’s one of the great all time players of the game, and he’s frustrating.”

...he can't do that to our pledges. Yeah, only we can do that to our pledges (I think I've used that Animal House line once before on this blog but hey it works).

...while everything Milbury said about Jagr is true and I've heard the same things from countless Ranger fans this year, I still don't like hearing it from a former Islander GM who doesn't know a thing about evaluating hockey talent as proved by his dreadful drafting ability (see trading Luongo so he could pick DiPietro ahead of Heatly and Gaborik) and ridiculous personnel moves (too numerous to mention).

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