Czech star Jaromir Jagr joins New Jersey Devils

WARK, United States - Agence France-Press

The Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane shakes hands with the Boston Bruins’ Jaromir Jagr (R) after the Blackhawks defeated the Bruins to win on June 24.

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 Tuesday 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.”

Offensive force

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 $2 million 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.