Jagr Gives Thirsty Caps Hope of Drink From Cup

If you think the Washington Wizards feel exhilarated practicing every day with Michael Jordan, imagine how the Capitals feel with Jaromir Jagr on the ice each day. Jordan may help the Wizards be competitive. But Jagr may help the Caps go to the Stanley Cup finals.

Jordan used to be the best player in NBA. But that was before three seasons in retirement. If he’s 90 percent of his old self, it will be a grand feat. Less is possible. Jagr, on the other hand, is still the best player in the NHL, coming off four straight scoring titles.

In two years, Jordan will be 40 and presumably retire again. In effect, his return may make the Wizards competitive. In two years, Jagr will still be in his prime as the Caps continue to build around him.

So, it’s no surprise that every Capitals eye is on Jagr and why the team is so intent on extending his contract. What you see in his every movement is magic.

In a full-speed scrimmage Thursday, Jagr barreled into the corner, trying to create a play, but couldn’t quite control the puck. That split second of hockey time was utterly meaningless. Yet Jagr reacted as if a playoff game were in progress. He glared at himself in the glass. His body language screamed his anger.

In the stands, General Manager George McPhee, who heisted Jagr from under the noses of the New York Rangers, couldn’t contain his delight. “If Jagr doesn’t make the great play every time, he just gets totally disgusted,” McPhee said.

Ever since he arrived, Jagr has frequently been the last to leave the ice, sometimes practicing his shot so long that many teammates have gone home before he calls it a day. The Jagr work ethic, which may be his dominant trait, has rubbed off on a team that was already known for its sturdy blue-collar habits.

“We’ve all felt anxious to get started since the day the trade happened,” goalie Olaf Kolzig said. “You never really know what a player is like personally until he’s on your team. We like practical jokes and fooling around. We enjoy each other. That’s a (team) strength.

“Jags fits right in. He’s got a great sense of humor. He likes to make fun of people, just like we do. As soon as there are three or four guys together, he opens right up. So, the locker room hasn’t changed at all. But now we have the best player in the world.”

Yes, that will tend to get you motivated. “Training camp was different. Players came back early and were more focused,” McPhee said. “There was something in the air.” Probably the prospect of about 45 goals and 70 assists from Jagr.

“The guys have been great. The whole organization has made it easier for me -- each guy, everybody,” said Jagr who has had Peter Bondra -- one of America’s highest paid chauffeurs -- driving him around the area, helping him get acclimated. “Now it’s exciting with the year starting. It’s going to be maybe a tough start for everybody, maybe even for me. But I think we’ll be okay.”

The Caps have a very tough early-season schedule and patience is advised. Hockey is a game of feel and familiarity. Where does a player like to receive the puck-forehand or backhand? Where are his favorite places to shoot? And in Jagr’s case, since he tied with the Caps’ Adam Oates for the NHL lead in assists (69) in 2000-01, there’s also the matter of Jagr understanding how to care for and feed his linemates.

While the Caps would prefer to start strong, they are far more concerned with what happens next spring. While they are well suited to the regular season, they are even better matched to the playoffs. This team may have lots of special weapons by April.

McPhee has proved he can make valuable late-season trades. Ron Wilson has already coached a Caps team to the Stanley Cup finals and won’t feel out of his element. In this defense-oriented era, you need a premier goalie, such as Kolzig, and a system that is oriented toward stopping goals first, producing them second. Also, size and depth are playoff trumps. The Caps have all that.

What they lacked was a goal scorer to complement Bondra. Instead, they got a scorer so magnificent that Bondra is now merely his complementary player. Suddenly, the Caps have a Jagr line and a Bondra line. Yet, their third line, led by Jeff Halpern, actually was the highest scoring on the team last year. That’s depth.

“Too much is made of the defensive aspects of our system,” Wilson said. “We concentrate on getting the puck back (in our possession) so that we have a chance to be creative. Last season, Bondra, Halpern, (Steve) Konowalchuk and (Sergei) Gonchar all had the best scoring years of their careers. With Jagr here, everybody will get better.

“It’s like putting Barry Bonds in the middle of your lineup. He makes the players around him better. But that doesn’t mean that the number seven hitter doesn’t still have to do his job ... By the way, why the hell won’t anybody pitch to Bonds? That’s a disgrace.”

That little aside is revealing. The Caps, for the first time, feel themselves to be a franchise in the mainstream of big-time pro sports. They play in the same building with Jordan. They’ve got Jagr. Somebody on the verge of 70 homers isn’t out of their league.

“From a national point of view, we’ve never gotten much attention,” Kolzig said. “We’ve never had the real marquee player. For a lot of people, that’s not too appealing.”

As a result, genuinely outstanding Caps such as Kolzig, Bondra, Gonchar, Halpern and team co-captains Konowalchuk and Brendan Witt probably have not gotten their due. Jagr isn’t subtracting limelight from the Caps. They got so little for so long that he’s actually adding it, even while getting the lion’s share.

What can be reasonably expected from this Caps team when it opens its season on Saturday night at MCI Center?

“We’re a solid team. But you can’t tell yet. You never know,” McPhee said. “We’re certainly capable of being in the top eight teams in the league. As long as you’re in the top eight, you have a chance to win the Cup. Historically, that’s how it’s worked.”

“We should not be so worried about the first or the second game,” Jagr said. “In the first 10 games, not everything will go perfectly. But I believe it’s going to be good here.”

So do the Caps. Every once in a while, they let their true dreams peek through to the surface.

“Look at him,” says McPhee, watching Jagr practice. “All his skills are at the elite level -- hockey sense, strength, puck handling, shooting

You only have to change one letter in “Cap” to make it “Cup.”