Yes? His underlying numbers in Boston (and Dallas and Philly for that matter) were sterling. They looked worse because he and Seguin had a substantially low on-ice shooting% in the playoffs, which very likely wasn't an indicator of either player's true talent. I can't say I expected him to play so many games, but his play wasn't really much different from his two prior seasons. He just got more games and more minutes with New Jersey.
On that note, I still find it absolutely HILARIOUS that Boston traded away what is likely to be a top-5 center going forward because of a down season/playoffs and some partying. Choosing Krejci long-term over Seguin is just absolutely mind-boggling to me.
And on the Kaberle note, how was he hung out to dry in Boston? They played him with Seidenberg and he sucked, they played him with McQuaid and he sucked. He still played around a 30-point pace, but he was trash in his own end.
Jagr's possession numbers were good in Boston and Dallas simply because he's Jagr, not because those teams put him in the best position to succeed. Dallas decided that Jagr was best suited to play on the 3rd line and he barely ever played with Jamie Benn. Jagr's scoring numbers were better on the powerplay than they were at evenstrength while the Stars.
In Boston it was even worse, he was playing with a bunch of players who were barely good enough to be on the 4th line, let alone share icetime with Jagr. Many Jagr fans and even Boston fans felt it was only natural to pair Jagr with Krejci and Lucic but it never happened. Instead for pretty much the whole 12 games he played during the regular season, he was playing on the 3rd line. Then he got sick (had the worst bout of the flu of his career as he put it) and when he came back in time for the playoffs, he was never fully recovered and he continued to play on the 3rd line where his playmaking abilities and his space creating abilities were being wasted. Of course in game 7 of their series against the Leafs, Boston decided to put Jagr on the 2nd line and only because Seguin was struggling at that point and they wanted to shake things up. Jagr had no chemistry with Bergeron and Marchand and having to develop chemistry during the playoffs in the second round doesn't work well does it? Is it even enough time?
The Devils had enough faith in Jagr to sign him in 2013-14 when almost everyone thought he was washed up and done, and he rewarded them by leading the offensively starved team in scoring. Confidence can go a long way for certain players.
The Bruins play the game a certain way, Kaberle and Jagr play it a different way. They play a puck possession game based on slowing the game down, playing keep away. Kaberle was a very good skater in his prime and he's a better skater than Jagr is at this point in his career, so if Jagr could still succeed despite being slow, then why shouldn't we give Kaberle the same benefit of doubt?
Being surrounded by his Czech friends including hometown friend Jagr might make him feel comfortable and we might see Kaberle have some sort of rejuvenation. After all, hockey is 80% cerebral and only 20% physical. I think a lot of Kaberle's regression the last few years can be attributed to him losing confidence in himself. Having Jagr around might be the remedy that the doctor prescribed.
Jagr rejuvenated Straka's career in New York, why not give Kaberle the same chance here?