The Unofficial Jaromir Jagr site - Jan Snyder on TUJJS

A poll is running on the sports page of The Washington Post. It asks the question, "Why can't the Caps put the puck in the net?" Answer choices are 1) New coach/new system; 2) Lack of chemistry; 3) Overrated talent; 4) Bad luck; or 5) Don't know. The overwhelming choice so far among respondents is number two - lack of chemistry.

On a team filled with potential high scoring players including Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, and Robert Lang, fairly respectable defensemen, and an immensely talented goalie in Kolzig, the team's showing so far is a mystery. Throw in a power play that should be devastating, but rarely is, and the mystery deepens.

With 25 games played, Jagr has amassed 26 points evenly divided into 13 goals and 13 assists. Not bad numbers for some players, but definitely disappointing for a player of Jagr's caliber. On the positive side, he is a +2 player and has an amazing 118 shots on goal. And in his defense, Jagr has rarely been on the same line with two players for more than a game or two as first year head coach, Bruce "Butch" Cassidy, has juggled lines looking for the secret formula to make his team a more consistent winner. There was the "former Penguins" line made up of Jagr, Lang, and Kip Miller, and most recently Jagr has played with Lang and newcomer to the Caps, Michael Nylander on the power play.

Bondra, a long-time goal-scorer, has played in 23 games and is presently at a -11 rating with only 15 points. Nylander is a bright spot on the team and maybe with some playing time together, the power play will develop into more of a scoring machine.

The owner is upset and in his own words, "heartbroken", the new coach is chagrined, trying to be a player's coach but finding it's not working too well, and the players seem mystified by their lack of scoring.

But we're only a quarter of the way through the season. Although it seems strange not to see Jagr's name in the top ten scorers in the league, that could change by the halfway mark of the season. All indications are that Jagr is playing hard, trying hard (remember, 118 shots on goal), and eventually it will all come together for the Caps.

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Here's a list of all the articles written by Jan Snyder except the newest one which is the one above: Click the one you'd like to read The articles below are from year 2002: 11 Mar. The Cruellest month 06 Mar. Boo birds come calling The articles below are from year 2001: 14 Sep. Regular people (WTC accident) 06 Sep. We are family 19 July Even trade? 14 May Side stories 08 May Behind enemy lines 06 Apr Spring is here 20 Mar Finding Mario 05 Mar Enough is Enough 16 Feb. Building a bigger and better Igloo 04 Feb. The "other" Lemieux 27 Jan. Seeing stars in Dallas 04 Jan. The Magic is back The articles below are from year 2000: 13 Dec. A dream come true 30 Nov. Sensory Overload 18 Nov. Milan Kraft - Future of the Pens? 01 Nov. Quick impressions from the Ranger game 18 Oct. The Power of Patrick 09 Oct. Notes from the games in Japan 04 Oct. It's Almost Time 22 Sep. The End of an Era 30 Aug Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto 23 Aug Memories of Mario 19 Aug Ministers of defence 16 Aug A Shameful Incident 11 Aug Checking out the Czechs 06 Aug The Excitement of the Playoffs 03 Aug Rockin' Hockey 26 July The Enigma that is Alexei 20 July The new Czech coach 16 July When should a hockey player retire 12 July The "mean" Third Jersey Penguin