This is the night many Penguins fans have been waiting for since Jaromir Jagr and Max Talbot both signed with the hated Philadelphia Flyers in early summer.
In Talbot's case, I think the fans will eventually forgive and forget. I mean, Max may have been a very popular player when he was here, and he did score the deciding goals in game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, but Max Talbot is not exactly a world-class winger. The Pens weren't going to overpay to keep him, and you really can't blame Talbot for signing with Philadelphia if they were willing to pony-up the cash. Business is business.
In Jagr's case, there will never be any forgiveness from the fans. Or put it this way, the fans may have found it in their hearts to eventually forgive Jagr for how he left Pittsburgh many years ago if he re-signed with the team this past summer, but after leading the fans, and even Mario Lemieux, to believe he was going to come back here before signing with the team's top rival? Well, you can put Jagr's name at the top of Pittsburgh's most hated former athletes list in permanent marker because there will be no need to ever try and erase it.
To say that Jagr left Pittsburgh on less than friendly terms back in 2001 would be an understatement, and Penguins fans have never forgotten it. Unlike Talbot, however, Jagr is a world-class winger (or at least he was during his time here in Pittsburgh), but he couldn't wait to leave, or at least he gave the city and the organization that impression before they finally traded him away.
It's a shame that Pittsburgh's relationship with Jagr is so strained, but it's not exactly out of he ordinary around here.
The fans of Pittsburgh have had some pretty curious love-hate relationships with a few of their superstars over the years. Barry Bonds and Dave Parker were two of the most productive and accomplished players to ever put on a Pirates uniform, yet, the fans never quite accepted them. Speaking of Bonds, he may actually be the most hated athlete to ever play in Pittsburgh. Most people just know Bonds as a San Francisco Giant who broke a lot of home run records, but they may not realize that Bonds had a really productive career with the Pirates before heading out West. He was considered maybe the best all-around player in the game in the early 90's, winning two MVP awards during his time in Pittsburgh.
Parker also had a productive career with the Pirates. He was the 1978 National League MVP and a two-time batting champion. However, he was also the first Major League player to earn a million dollar salary, and this seemed to irk Pirates fans more than anything. It got so bad for "the Cobra," he had to wear a batting helmet in the outfield because fans were throwing coins and batteries in his direction.
Heck, even guys like Terry Bradshaw and the beloved Roberto Clemente initially had frosty relationships with the City of Pittsburgh before finally earning the respect and love of the fans. In Bradshaw's case, he was so bitter about what the fans said about him in the early portion of his career, he waited nearly two-decades to come back to town to let the Steelers and their faithful honor his great career.
When it comes to the fans ever officially honoring Jagr, well, I'm sure he's finding out right about now that it may take 30 or 40 years for Penguins fans to find it in their hearts to appreciate and love him.
Jagr is one of the most prolific scorers in NHL history, but like a lot of former Pittsburgh athletes have discovered, you can't always buy our love with stats.
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