SUNRISE: It’s been a while since the Panthers (13-10-4-30) have played at the BB&T Center but they are hope for a game with the Seantors (14-8-5-33) Tuesday night. A regulation win by the Panthers puts them within one point of the third place Senators.
It will be the first time in red for Jaromir Jagr and the Panthers since a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders Nov. 27. Jagr leads the team in goals (8-tied with Vincent Trocheck), assists (12-tie with Jonathon Huberdeau) and is the outright offensive leader of the team with 20 points, which is tied with a dozen other players for 50th in the NHL. The assist total makes him among 16 players tied for 56th, and the goals make him among 11 tied for 66th.
Still a shining star in eyes of fans: Despite a request from Jagr that fans shift their votes to younger players for the 3-on-3 all star format this year, fans continue to vote him as the leading vote-getter for the Atlantic Division, which would make him captain of the squad. Voting continues to Jan. 1 at nhl.com. Earlier this year Jagr was convinced to play in the IIHF World Tournament which was staged in his native Czech Republic. It went so well he was named MVP of the tournament even though the Czechs did not earn a medal.
In other games involving Atlantic Division teams, Detroit visits Washington while Toronto hosts New Jersey.
It’s a big day off the ice as the owners of the Florida Panthers hope a favorable vote by the Broward County Commissioners. The $86 million package is one of the later items to be discussed on a lengthy agenda at today’s meeting. The local papers, sunsentinel.com and miamiherald.com have been covering this story which may reach a conclusion today.
The presence of out-of-town fans at Panthers games is another reason the BB&T center is a worthy recipient of tourist tax revenues. The team should have a department to maximize hockey tourism from snowbird cities to fill seats until the core of locals fans grows to the point of making the visitor’s less prominent.
Before we go, here’s the up-to-date Jagr-O-Meter following #68’s two assist effort Sunday night Florida’s 4-2 loss to New Jersey.
Assorted Jagr-related links:
Florida Panthers 2015-16 Media Guide
http://panthers.nhl.com/v2/ext/Florida201516MediaGuide_web.pdf
Florida Panthers Team website: http://www.floridapanthers.com
Some Jagr-related social media accounts:
@68Jagr This is the real site, the one and only official Jaromir Jagr twitter account. Postings are rare.
The two best Jagr facebook pages are: https://www.facebook.com/68Jagr/ This is the page Jagr posts on, if he is going to post at all.
Another good facebook page is one produced by someone in the Czech Republic. It has more than 100,000 likes. This is not the official page, but it is very good.
https://www.facebook.com/JaromirJagrfan/?fref=nf
@FlaPanthers and @FLAPanthersPR The official twitter accounts for news about the team.
@dougielarge Doug Cifu, few owners in sports relate to the fans as much as this man who interacts with fans and media on twitter.
@goldieonice — Steve Goldstein, TV play-by-play of the Panthers. Brings all those exciting highlights to life.
@DenisPotvinFox — NHL Hall of Famer Denis Potvin works along side Goldstein in the booth.
@HeyRedDeer color man Randy Moller who left the radio booth to help Goldstein and Potvin on TV.
@GeorgeRichards Panthers beat writer for the Miami Herald.
@HFialkov Panthers beat writer for the Sun Sentinel
@AntwanStaley Includes Panthers coverage in his all sports all the time reports
@Cats0ntheprowl twitter for Cats On the Prowl, offering detailed reviews of Panthers games and more.
@SunshineSkate twitter for The Sunshine Skate, another blog with special emphasis on advanced stats and charts that will make you dizzy.
@Zdenek_Janda US-based Czech reporter who covers the NHL and reports on other news for the people of the Czech Republic.
@Jsmidcro Jan Smid was a US-based Czech reporter who collaborated on “Jagr”, an autobiography in the late 90’s detailing Jagr’s early life and career in the NHL.
@NHLHistoryGirl This hockey loving woman shares interesting informational tidbits about hockey and the NHL in general. How does she do it?
@MyRegularFace She’s another gem. Watches lots of games and gets up GIFs faster than nhl.com or anyone else out there.
@KrRutherford Kristina Rutherford wrote a great article for Canada’s sportsnet magazine.
Nigel Buchanan, whose superhero treatment of Jagr in his art for sportsnet magazine is one of the many efforts he has on display at http://www.nigelbuchanan.com.
Quant Hockey: Career stats updated game by game by a hockey lover in Europe. Site enables you to find career leaders in any offensive category by clicking on the category you are researching.
http://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/records/nhl-players-all-time-points-leaders.html
@rytiriKladno The Kladno Hockey Club: Before coming to the NHL Jagr played for this team in the Czech league as a teenager. Now he owns the team. It’s in Czech but some devices can translate to English. Follow them at:
@HockeyCzech National organization for hockey in the Czech Republic.
@68isgr8 is the twitter for The Traveling Jagrs. Clad in different Jagr jerseys and hair styles from 68’s career, they gained league-wide recognition when they caught Jagr’s attention during a pre-game skate of a Dallas Stars game in Canada during the 2012-2013 season. Since then, they convene at games in Western Canada and make a road trip or two every year, playing street hockey with locals, posing for hundreds of pictures, and having a good time with fans while honoring an all-time NHL legend.
https://twitter.com/search?q=traveling%20jagrs&src=savs.
Ray Haluska aka Kladno Jagr, curator of the Jagr-O-Meter
jagrometer 