It is no secret that in order for the Rangers to make the playoffs they need their star player to take them there. Jaromir Jagr, one of the most prolific players to ever step on the ice is mired in his worst statistical season of his life. I really can’t stand the critics who blast Jagr and declare that he does not want to play and has no heart. That is a bunch of crap. The bottom line is that Jagr is just having a difficult time putting the puck in the net right now. It has been 9 games since the Ranger Captain has lit the lamp but even without scoring, Jagr contributes in other ways.

Take the Montreal game from Super Bowl Sunday. Jags was held without a point but if it were not for his hard work to get in front of Canadiens goalie Cristobal Huet for a monstrous screen, Marc Staal’s shot would not have been kicked out right to Scott Gomez, who in turn had a wide open net to bring the Rangers back from a three goal deficit. Its plays like that where Jagr makes his mark. Everyone goes through scoring slumps in the league, it is a natural part of any sport but Jaromir is getting blasted for his cold streak because let’s face it, it has never happened to him before and no one is used to seeing number 68 with only 47 points in February.

If GM Glen Sather decides to trade Jagr it will without a doubt be one of the worst things this franchise has ever done and they have done some pretty dumb things in their long history. By trading Jagr, the Rangers will lose not only their Captain but they will lose their most valuable player. Night in and night out Jagr is covered by the opposing team’s top defenseman like no other player on the Rangers. Last week for example against the Ducks, Jagr did not have one single shift the entire game where he did not have Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer or Mathieu Schneider draping all over him. Those are three of the top defensemen in the NHL and that was just for one game.

Without Jagr’s presence on the ice it will be too easy for the opposition to shift their focus to Scott Gomez and Brendan Shanahan. If that were to happen, the Ranger’s offense would sputter so badly that Henrik Lundqvist would need to win every game 1-0 in a shootout for New York to have a chance. New York needs Jagr and Jagr needs New York, he doesn’t want to play anywhere else. He wants to bring the Stanley Cup back to Manhattan.

Yes, he needs to start producing for the Ranger’s to win but there are 23 games left and Jagr will explode just in the nick of time. Get your Jaggerbombs ready.