2006 NHL awards.(KNOW IT ALL)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jaromir Jagr: RANGERS

How important was Jaromir Jagr to the Rangers' ending a seven-year playoff drought? After Jagr injured a shoulder in Game 1 of the playoffs, his team folded and was swept by the Devils.

Not since his mullet days had Jagr been so dominant. No one questioned his talent, but this season he found himself in position to play the style he favors, with players to complement him and a coach who knew how best to make the most of his talents. Jagr, 34, was rejuvenated and played with an enthusiasm he had lacked in recent seasons.

It was so unexpected. In most preseason write-ups Jagr was pegged as enigmatic, selfish, lazy or just plain disinterested. The Rangers, pundits droned, would stink as usual.

Instead, we got the hockey equivalent of The Producers: Jagr starred in a Broadway production everyone expected to be a disaster but came off a smash.

Look at the numbers: 54 goals and 123 points, both second in the NHL, and plus-34. He is a finalist for the league's Hart Trophy and the players' association's Lester Pierson Award as the season's MVP. One more number: Jagr nearly doubled second-place vote-getter Joe Thornton's total in our polling of league scouting directors.

Jagr shouldered responsibility all season. How ironic that it was a shoulder that failed him in the playoffs.