Jaromir Jagr Signing With Flyers Compares To Brett Favre Playing For Vikings, New York Times Says

Read More: Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers

The New York Times attempts to put Jaromir Jagr's unexpected decision to sign with the Penguins' rivals in Philadelphia into perspective, comparing it with Brett Favre playing for the Vikings or Roger Clemens for the Yankees:

The signing of Jagr and Talbot by Philadelphia is comparable in shock value, and perhaps as an act of betrayal in the eyes of fans, to Brett Favre’s signing with the Minnesota Vikings after spending most of his career with the Green Bay Packers, and with the Red Sox icons Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon becoming Yankees.

No reason to bring Max Talbot into this, honestly - a lot of Pens fans would have preferred to keep him around, but a lot were satisfied that the Flyers overpaid, and I'm not sure very many people wish Talbot ill.

Jagr, though? That's a different story. The hype surrounding his potential return to Pittsburgh was enormous, and there doesn't appear to be any clear reason why he didn't re-sign for the team for which he made his name, other than the $1.3 million difference in salary the two teams offered. The only thing that keeps this signing from being on a level with Favre or Clemens is the fact that it's only likely to last a year.