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FA 1994- all GMs called , FA 2017- 0 calls🏆😀 pic.twitter.com/7uLJm95CAB — Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) June 29, 2017

It’s not just Jagr who is complaining that no one visits him in the nursing home anymore.

On Friday, the New Jersey Devils placed Mike Cammalleri on waivers for the purpose of buying out the remainder of his contract. The 35-year-old now joins a group of oldtimers that includes Joe Thornton (37), Jarome Iginla (39) and Shane Doan (40), who are all looking for jobs this summer.

As Jagr tweeted, 10 years ago, their phones would have been ringing off the hook. But that was when phones still had hooks and when former stars like Chris Kunitz (37) and Patrick Marleau (37) had not lost a step in a league that keeps getting faster.

The question now is whether these future Hall of Fame players can still play a vital role as they enter the fourth-line stage of their career.

Does a young team, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, benefit from having Thornton or Doan in the dressing room? Is it worthwhile to have Iginla around to impart wisdom on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl?

The answer is yes — as long as the old fart can still play.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Ross D. Franklin

“I think for the Leafs, they could use some help because they’re such a young team and you could use somebody to guide Auston Matthews through what he needs to do,” said TSN hockey analyst and former NHL forward Jeff O’Neill. “Could a Joe Thornton or a Patrick Marleau or Jarome Iginla help in that area? Sure. But honestly, when you have that alpha dog superstar, like a Sidney Crosby or a Connor McDavid, they figure it out on their own.”