from Michael Langr at NHL.com,

Jaromir Jagr said Wednesday he wasn't expecting it to be so difficult to sign with an NHL team this offseason.

"The most serious negotiations I have are with Kladno. Because Kladno has a smart owner who knows what he wants," joked Jagr, who owns the team in Czech Republic's second-tier professional league. "No, really, I don't have a clue. I leave it all on my agent [Petr Svoboda]. There is a couple of [NHL] teams that showed interest, but nothing specific yet."...

Jagr said if he stays in the Czech Republic, he would play for Kladno, not in Extraliga, the top league, because he would like to keep open as an option signing with an NHL team during the season.

"That would be the advantage of playing for Kladno. One thing is I would be at home and the other is I would have a chance to leave for the NHL anytime there is an opportunity," he said. "Let's say some team deals with injuries and needs help, then I could pack my stuff in the next day and go. If I played in Extraliga, I wouldn't have such an option unless the Czech league season would be over."

Jagr remains hopeful he'll sign with an NHL team, but only if the situation is right.

"Most important for me is to see some serious interest from the team. Because the more serious it is, the bigger the chance to get a better role on the team," he said. "And then it's on me how I would use that chance. Right now, I need to be ready when the opportunity comes. That's all I need to take care of now; taking care of anything else doesn't make sense."

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