Jaromir Jagr, used with permission © Bob Fina/InsideHockey.com

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise but Jaromir Jagr will no longer be donning the orange and black. The future Hall of Famer will be taking his talents to the Lone Star state, signing a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Dallas Stars.

Jagr has expressed in the past how much he loved playing in Philadelphia and that last season was the most fun he had in his career. As much as he would have loved to stay with the Flyers, Jagr wanted a hefty raise from his $3.3 million he earned last year and that was something they weren’t willing to do.

Many questioned Paul Holmgren last summer when he signed the 40-year-old forward, fearing that he would cause more problems than he was worth. Well, they changed their tune quickly when it became obvious that although he wasn’t the Jagr of the 1990s, he was still capable of flashing the brilliancy that won him three Stanley Cups.

Even though he surprised fans with his numbers on the stat sheet, the chemistry that he had with not only his line mates, Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell, but every single player on the team was an intangible that  was an added bonus. At his age and with the career that he already had, Jagr could have easily taken his paycheck and coasted through his final years. Instead he worked harder than ever, including late-night training sessions at the rink.

While Giroux would have emerged as part of the elite in the NHL anyway, Jagr’s presence seemed to open new doors for number 28. When Peter Laviolette put the two on the line together in late October, it was as if the Flyers struck gold.

Jagr showed exactly what he meant to the team by taking to Twitter Tuesday night to express his thoughts on his year in Philly.

Best of luck to Jags!