NEWARK, United States: Five-time former NHL scoring champion Jaromir Jagr has signed to play for the New Jersey Devils next season.
The 41-year-old Czech star was acquired by Boston at the trade deadline last season and helped the Bruins reach the Stanley Cup finals where they lost in six games to Chicago.
Jagr signed as a free agent with New Jersey and said yesterday he knows the clock is ticking on his NHL career.
“Don’t forget, I’m 41 years old, so I don’t have many options,” he said. “There’s not many teams looking for a forward that’s 41 years old.”
But Jagr showed he is still an offensive force at the highest level as he finished with 10 points in 22 playoff games with the Bruins.
Details of Jagr’s new contract were not released but the American media said it was a one-year deal with a base salary of $2m and it also included bonuses.
New Jersey is looking to Jagr to fill the void left by the departure of temperamental Russian Ilya Kovalchuck who decided to play in the lower level European Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) instead of seeing out his long-term contract with New Jersey.
“Because I love the game, I was looking for the team where I was going to have an opportunity to play,” Jagr said.
Jagr previously won a pair of Stanley Cup titles in his first two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the early-1990s. Pittsburgh selected him fifth overall in the 1990 entry draft.
In a brilliant professional career spanning over 20 years, Jagr has previously played with Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, Dallas and Boston. He left the NHL in 2008 and spent three seasons playing in the KHL but returned to the NHL for the 2011-12 season.
Jagr is a member of the exclusive Triple Gold Club which includes hockey players who have won an NHL championship, Olympic gold medal and a world championship. AFP
