Jaromir Jagr new deal in Russia

 Jaromir Jagr new deal in Russia

Have we seen the end of JAROMIR JAGR outside international competition? Well for the next 2 years it would seem so as his new deal in Russia contains a "no-out" clause, which means he's obligated to play with Omsk for at least two years. Jaromir Jagr had one of his worst seasons ever with just 25 goals and 71 points in 2007-08, totals that prevented him from meeting triggers in his contract that would have kept him in New York for at least one more season. Yet, as the playoffs neared, Jaromir Jagr became a force and was the team's best player down the stretch and through the two rounds of the playoffs. 

There may be money in Russia (just don't ask where it came from), but the hockey is hit-and-miss, even with Jagr creating headlines.

The Jaromir Jagr era in New York closed with the Rangers' signing of free-agent forward Markus Naslund on Thursday, there remained a number of interesting possibilities for Jaromir Jagr. Edmonton was hungry for his experience and talent as part of a revamped Oilers offense. The Penguins, despite signing Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko on Thursday, presumably could have found room for the former Pittsburgh star.

But if it wasn't New York, it wasn't going to be anywhere for Jaromir Jagr. If he stays with Omsk for the full three years, a source told ESPN.com that Jaromir Jagr could collect $35 million (U.S.) over the life of the new deal.

 Jaromir Jagr is a professional ice hockey right winger, who plays for Avangard Omsk in the Continental Hockey League. Jágr wore the number 68 in honor of the Prague Spring rebellion that occurred in Czechoslovakia in 1968, also the year in which his grandfather died while in prison. Jágr is currently in the top fifteen among players in NHL career goals, assists, and points, and is regarded as one of the game's all-time great players.

Jagr has been the subject of several notorious off-ice incidents:

• Although he has repeatedly denied that he has a gambling problem, he admitted in 2003 that he settled debts totaling US$950,000 with two internet gambling sites between 1998 and 2002. The first of these incidents centered around Belize-based website CaribSports and its owner, William Caesar, to which Jagr owed US$500,000. Sports Illustrated reported that Jagr agreed to make monthly payments to Caesar to settle the debt, and Caesar leaked the story to the press when Jagr stopped making payments.
• In 2003, the IRS filed a US$3.27 million lien against him for unpaid taxes for the 2001 tax year. Only a few months before, Jagr had settled a US$350,000 claim for taxes dating to 1999. In the summer of 2006, Jagr sued his former accountant over a tax form that was supposed to have been filed in 2003, claiming that the form would have saved him $6 million had it been filed in a timely fashion (USD)