NHL: With massive contract finished, Jagr's career may be over
Posted: May 06, 2008, 11:00 AM by Noah Love
Hockey, NHL, Stanley Cup Playoffs

Jaromir Jagr skated right from his final exchange of the handshake line to the door leading to the New York Rangers’ dressing room.

No final look back at the ice. No wave. No acknowledgment either way about where he goes from here.

And amid the quiet of the post-game locker-room, he offered no hints about his plans for next year and beyond — other than to declare that he would be the one in charge of his fate.

“I don’t feel very well,” the 36-year-old Rangers captain told the New York Daily News. “After you lose, you know you cannot play anymore.”

When asked if he gave any thought to the possibility that the Eastern Conference semifinals might have represented his last games, Jagr replied: “You know what, the last game in what way? I don’t think I’m going to retire from hockey. I know I’m going to play somewhere. I don’t know where.

“It would probably be a tough situation if I didn’t know I was going to play anymore. But I still feel like I got many years left if I decide to work at it. It’s all about work ethic and how hard you want to work.”

The seven-year, US$78-million contract Jagr signed upon being traded from Pittsburgh to Washington in 2001 expires June 30. After failing to hit any of the regular-season triggers, the only way Jagr could have extended it for one more season was to have won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

— Canwest News Service