A team release announces that the Penguins had offered Jaromir Jagr a one year, $2 million contract but now they have pulled it from the table,
The Pittsburgh Penguins withdrew their one-year, $2 million contract offer to free agent Jaromir Jagr Friday morning.
"We made what we thought was a very fair contract offer to Jaromir on Tuesday, based on his stated interest of returning to the Penguins," said Ray Shero, the team's executive vice president and general manager. "We made our best offer from the start, given our salary cap structure, in an attempt to facilitate a deal. But now, after several days, with an extended time frame for making a decision, and additional teams getting involved, we have decided to move in a different direction. It was never our intention to get involved in a free agent bidding war, and we have to focus on our team.
"Jaromir is one of the greatest players in Penguins history, and we wish him all the best."
A stunning turn of events for the biggest rumor of the week that saw Jagr, a franchise icon, possibly returning to the team where he started.
It is believed that Detroit and Philadelphia are in the running for Jagr, and they may have offered a higher contract, thus the bidding war Shero mentions above.
Regardless of what happens, the Pens will have to move to lock up a couple of scoring right wingers now, most notably Tyler Kennedy.
Now, here's how you can keep track of JustinM's league-wide free agency coverage: