Inside the Flyers: Jagr established as a team leader

One of the most interesting aspects of the young season is how Jaromir Jagr has become one of the Flyers' undisputed leaders.

That may seem strange to those who remember how he supposedly poisoned locker rooms at some previous stops, but Jagr has mellowed with age.

Mellowed, and realized how much the sport means to him.

Mellowed, and learned how to poke fun at himself.

Mellowed, and become a team player who is content to let his teammates be in the spotlight.

"He's really down to earth and a great guy," 22-year-old winger James van Riemsdyk said on Friday. "He's really helped me out so far."

The young Flyers, like van Riemsdyk, Claude Giroux, and Matt Read, talk with a reverence in their voice when they mention Jagr. That's because they were youngsters when Jagr was scoring some of his 646 career NHL goals and dazzling fans with his zest for the game.

At 39, the goals don't come as easily as when he was scoring 62 for the Penguins in 1995-96 or 54 for the Rangers in 2005-06. But his zest for the game hasn't changed.

Which is why he sometimes hits the weight room or the ice at the SkateZone in Voorhees around 11 p.m. or midnight - after working out with the team earlier in the day. Jagr did it all through training camp and a few times in this season.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound winger claims he has done it throughout his 17-year, Hall of Fame career, along with his three years in Russia.

Not many people put so many extra hours into the game, he was told.

"Not many are playing when they're almost 40," he replied with a smile.

Jagr recently moved from a Voorhees hotel to Center City, so his late-night routine - the Jagr Hockey School, teammate Jody Shelley calls it - will not be in session as much.

"Maybe I won't do it as often, but I will still do it, that's for sure," Jagr said. "I love hockey. I take it seriously - maybe sometimes too seriously."

A handful of Flyers have joined Jagr at some late-night, on-ice workouts, including van Riemsdyk and Shelley.

"It's pretty cool," said van Riemsdyk, who has been at one of the sessions.

"I don't know. I like my sleep," said Read, a fast-rising rookie who has bypassed the Late Show workouts. "Everybody does what they have to do to get themselves ready. And he's a great player, so . . . "

Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov echoed Read.

"In my opinion, at 12 o'clock you should be rested and be in bed," he said with a smile. "But everybody is different. Maybe he does this his whole career, and it works for him."

Jagr, a five-time NHL scoring champion, was still looking for his first goal entering Saturday's game against St. Louis. He had, however, collected four assists and aided a much-improved power play.

Maybe earlier in his career, when he was more concerned about his personal totals, Jagr would have been in panic mode after not scoring a goal in his first six games. Now, he is taking it in stride.

"He doesn't look like he's pressing to me," coach Peter Laviolette said after Friday's practice, this one at a "normal" hour. "You watch him in practice here. [Chris Pronger] shot a puck, and it hit him in the ass, and he laughed it off. He had a big smile on his face."

Jagr wears a perpetual smile. Going goalless in six games doesn't seem like a big deal when you have watched a teammate collapse on the bench while you are talking with him. Sports Illustrated re-created the scene in a story on Jagr last week. Three years ago, Jagr was chatting with Alexei Cherepanov during a game in Russia when the 19-year-old collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. He died a few hours later.

Jagr told SI the death had caused him to reexamine his priorities.

On Friday, Jagr softened the stance, saying that the death didn't change him, that he has always been a compassionate person, always lived for the moment.

"You're here, and then you're not here. It can change just like that. Any minute," he said. "You should enjoy and be happy every minute if you can."

And if that means skating around an empty rink at midnight while most of your teammates are in dreamland, well, so be it.