News Article: 20 years after the Jaromir Jagr trade, former Penguin Kris Beech has found peace

[Mario_is_BACK!!]

/ccpa/

Poor guy had some ridiculous expectations placed on him. Glad he’s found happiness. Also I promise that link works.

Click to read more...

 

[EightyOne]

Who really expected shit? The pens got like $18mil in savings the deal.. That's what they traded for. No one thought those players were going to fill jagrs place

Too bad Beech was just another unremarkable nhler... At least he got to the big show for a few years

 

[LOGiK]

/ccpa/

Poor guy had some ridiculous expectations placed on him. Glad he’s found happiness. Also I promise that link works.

Reporters really feel the need to dig into a guys life who couldn't handle life in the center stage of big league sports?

Not really sure why that was ever even 'published'.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

It's rather crazy how many silver linings there are, for all sides, on something that worked out so terribly at the time for all sides.

Absolutely wrecked my world at the time, and I know I'm far from alone there even though we were all pretty much in the acceptance stage of grief by the time the trade went down...just mind-blowing to think of the timing of it all given how it both seems like several lifetimes ago and, like, 3 years ago at the same time. The beginning of the end is how it felt...and damn were we set for some bleak f***ing darkness those next few years...but sometimes a forest needs to burn before it can thrive again.

I'll always get a bit of joy out of knowing that we'd eventually win 3 Cups with the core the 2nd dark ages resulted in...3 more than Jagr would win before continuing his career in perpetuity with Kladno. Not going to lie, that makes it a hell of a lot easier to look back at this positively, rather than the way we all reacted to it for years afterward. Those burned trees have long since been reclaimed by the Earth...and whatever complaints we can have of the modern Penguins, it's still comparatively pure joy compared to the blazing inferno of the early/mid 00s...and, man, seeing our team win 3 Cups after the dull pain of nearly losing the team entirely makes it hard for me not to cherish the run we've had. There's so much pain that can be focused on, but so many positives that we couldn't have seen at the time.

I still feel bad for the prospect trio we got in return. They were never going to live up to who they were traded for, and the need to soften the blow of the trade to fans led to some truly regrettable comparisons being made. One thing that I've been consistent on from the day the trade happened - I'll take my chance on 3 lottery tickets over the 'lol f*** you' package that the Rangers were offering, so certain of being the only team that could afford Jagr as they were. Beech working out was at least a possibility...even before Pavel Brendl played a professional game that dude's game reeked of decade-old milk.

 

[Gurglesons]

Two years ago today, he posted a picture of himself wearing a black Capitals jersey and posing in front of the White House along with a message to fans.
“Caps fans,” he wrote. “Sorry it didn’t work out, but I try my best. After 18 years we should look the positive way. If I would play very good, you would have never had a chance to draft OVI. And you probably didn’t win the Cup last year. You welcome.”

Jags is such a jackass.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I don't think many had much in the way of real expectations at the time. The main point, of course, was the cash to keep the team afloat. Though I do think that we were all kinda hopeful that perhaps SOMETHING would come of at least one of the three. Sivek actually looked OK from what I recall but I think he took one look around and figured retiring overseas was a better option.

As Big said... at least the Caps put on a halfway decent show of putting a package together. The Rangers were just like "lol... gimmie."

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Fans: "That's awful. He's proof we shouldn't place unrealistic expectations on these kids."

Also fans: "Samuel Poulin is going to be the next Hossa by next season!"

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I don't think many had much in the way of real expectations at the time. The main point, of course, was the cash to keep the team afloat. Though I do think that we were all kinda hopeful that perhaps SOMETHING would come of at least one of the three. Sivek actually looked OK from what I recall but I think he took one look around and figured retiring overseas was a better option.

As Big said... at least the Caps put on a halfway decent show of putting a package together. The Rangers were just like "lol... gimmie."

The best possible piece rumored with the Rangers was Jan Hlaváč, who was fresh off one of the least impressive 60 point seasons of the era and wouldn't sniff half that ever again.

Rather humorously Philadelphia got stuck with those two bums (and non-bum Kim Johnsson) a few months later in the Lindros trade. Hlaváč was so immediately impressive that he was traded for Donald Brashear by Christmas.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

The best possible piece rumored with the Rangers was Jan Hlaváč, who was fresh off one of the least impressive 60 point seasons of the era and wouldn't sniff half that ever again.

Rather humorously Philadelphia got stuck with those two bums (and non-bum Kim Johnsson) a few months later in the Lindros trade. Hlaváč was so immediately impressive that he was traded for Donald Brashear by Christmas.

They eventually tagged us with that Kovalev trade return, though.

f***ing yikes to that one. Arguably worse than the Jagr trade.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Oh and additionally... that 1999 draft. Holy shit. So bad.

Ryan Malone doh.

 

[TNT87]

Anniversary of Penguins trading Jagr to Capitals recalls peak of Jagr-blaming

 

[TNT87]

I had no idea the struggles that Beech went through. Good to see he's doing a lot better.

 

[Al Smith]

Who really expected shit? The pens got like $18mil in savings the deal.. That's what they traded for. No one thought those players were going to fill jagrs place

Too bad Beech was just another unremarkable nhler... At least he got to the big show for a few years

I recall hoping that they would actually be NHL players, but not much more than that. I sort of recall thinking this seemed like a Pirates trade, so expectations of any of the trash we got for a quality professional were - at least in my puny mind - pretty low.

 

[Pens x]

Fans: "That's awful. He's proof we shouldn't place unrealistic expectations on these kids."

Also fans: "Samuel Poulin is going to be the next Hossa by next season!"

According to many people here, he should have been Hossa this past season. Gotta crawl before you walk - let the guy at least play in the AHL.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Good for him, most knew he wasn't some superstar in the making. It was just tragic the team didn't really get any future pieces that could have stuck around for the Sid/Geno era in some fashion to make it sting a little less, but we should understand the reasonings for the trade in general.

He had a lowkey successful career and retired on a really good final season. Congrats on the peace of mind, Kris.

 

[Jacob]

That and the Kovalev trades were irredeemable. They didn’t even get prospects back in that one. Every one of those guys except Samuelson had cleared waivers prior.

I know they were financial trades but it’s unforgivable CP couldn’t get a pile of picks instead of guys they could had for free a year prior.

 

[EvGeno]

I didn’t/couldn’t read the article, but I liked that he dated former KDKA newscaster Sonni Abatta when I was in high school...no idea why she passed on the married name Sonni Beech.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

That trade was so f***ing terrible. It should be the posterboy for this site on why you don’t put so much emphasis for trading your established NHL impact players just for prospects.

 

[eXile3]

That and the Kovalev trades were irredeemable. They didn’t even get prospects back in that one. Every one of those guys except Samuelson had cleared waivers prior.

I know they were financial trades but it’s unforgivable CP couldn’t get a pile of picks instead of guys they could had for free a year prior.

I remember CP saying that they could have got better return but they wouldn't be able to afford those players. I feel like Antropov was one of them for some reason?

 

[Gurglesons]

That and the Kovalev trades were irredeemable. They didn’t even get prospects back in that one. Every one of those guys except Samuelson had cleared waivers prior.

I know they were financial trades but it’s unforgivable CP couldn’t get a pile of picks instead of guys they could had for free a year prior.

I mean, they got 4 million in cash for Kovalev. That was probably the reality of what they needed at that point.

 

[66-30-33]

Reading the thread title I thought Beech died.

 

[Liberty Biberty]

That trade was so f***ing terrible. It should be the posterboy for this site on why you don’t put so much emphasis for trading your established NHL impact players just for prospects.

Hopefully you haven't read any of the Eichel threads then...

 

[HandshakeLine]

Jags is such a jackass.

It's pretty amazing that people still think he's not.

 

[TooManyHumans]

It's pretty amazing that people still think he's not.

It's always been part of his appeal to me.

 

[Gurglesons]

It's always been part of his appeal to me.

I would have been cool with it if he was actually a winner.

Dude had one great playoff run where Lemieux, Stevens, and Francis were the alpha dogs.