Jaromir Jagr admits he hasnt been this happy to play in the National Hockey League in a very long time.
To that end, Jagr said on Thursday that he wants to re-sign a one-year deal for next season.
Hes been hinting all along he wanted this, but kept saying he didnt want to commit until after the season. That changed today. He was more definitive in stating he intends to re-sign.
And, he added, he is not looking for Sidney Crosby dollars.
If I play good? I dont think its going to be a problem because, from my side, Im happy, he said. I like this team too much. I dont want to go anywhere.
Though he could likely making 5 or 6 million elsewhere, he said its not about the money, its about personal happiness.
Can you buy happiness for two years? Jagr asked. Are you gonna take a risk to go somewhere else and not be happy? I want to be happy. I want to come to work and be happy.
NHL
Theres a lot of places guys dont like each other and have to come to work because that is their job. I dont want that.
If it were about money, I wouldnt have come here when I could have made three times more in Russia.
The Flyers are going to have cap issues next season with more than 58 million already allocated to present contracts.
Jagr, who will be unrestricted, earns 3.3 million. When asked whether there has been contract talks, Jagr said, No talks. Its a good fit. It has to be a good fit."
The Flyers have no idea whether Chris Pronger will ever play again and if they replace his salary with a player of equal value, it makes this even trickier if Pronger were to come back at some point in time in 2012-13.
A familiar face was around the Flyers practice facility this week in former defenseman Petr Svoboda.
Its been more than three months since Svoboda has seen his two Flyer clients, Jagr and Jakub Voracek.
Both have contracts that expire this summer.
There is nothing going on right now, Svoboda said. I am just here to see the boys.
Svoboda did speak with general manager Paul Holmgren on Wednesday to check in about his players, Holmgren said.
Weve had some talks, Holmgren said, adding that Jagr sat in with Svoboda in that session. Wed like to have him back and I made that public earlier. Hes the one who was hesitant. Well see how it goes.
Holmgren spoke to Svoboda again Thursday, he said.
Jagr doesnt want any contract discussion in-season because it would be a distraction.
Voracek is a restricted free agent.
Jagr said that the combination of a winning team, young, enthusiastic players, the coaching staff and general feeling in the dressing room is something hes had before and he feels it suits him best.
Its like a family and its not like that everywhere, Jagr said.
That said, he admitted he doesnt know how things might be here if things were bad and we were losing and fighting for the playoffs.
Everything is good here and nobody is panicking and that is what I like, Jagr said. We lose but coach has confidence. We dont panic, we dont switch lines. Our line didnt play good for four or five games and nobody panicked. Coach told us we had to play better but no one panicked.
Told that Flyer fans are nervous about his re-signing, he said, They dont have to worry. If Im going to play good, Im probably going to be here."
E-mail Tim Panaccio tpanotch@comcast.net