Jágr wears No. 68 in honor of the Prague rebellion against the Soviet Union in 1968.
In January of this year he told an AP reporter he would go to Pittsburgh and play for the Penguins for the NHL's minimum salary if Mario Lemieux asked him to.
The AP story appeared in the New York Post and was picked up by countless other publications. Jágr was quoted as saying, "I owe Mario so much because he taught me how to play hockey. If he would want me to, I would come back for the minimum and try to help him. But he doesn't need me. He has good players there."
The Pittsburgh Penguins (29-26-6) have two of the best players in the world but they just fired their coach because of the way their team has been playing. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are one-two in scoring, leading the NHL in points, but the Penguins are in a panic about making the playoffs.
Last season they came within a couple games of winning the Stanley Cup and everyone was predicting a Penguin dynasty, but they have suffered from the jinx that comes with finishing second in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Do the Pittsburgh Penguins need help? Yes. Their two superstars need support. In particular, Crosby needs a winger.
He said he had no regrets about leaving the NHL to play in Russia, despite watching a teammate die on the bench, having his coach quit in the middle of a game, and playing in a league whose financial situation is said to be faltering.
Jágr recently took center stage for the KHL All-Star Game on an outdoor rink in Red Square. He was the captain of Team Jágr, the team of foreign all-stars, which played against Team Yashin, an all-Russian lineup led by the former NHL player Alexei Yashin.
In another interview from Russia, Jágr said he still keeps an eye on the NHL and the Rangers, and has remained in touch with Tom Renney.
He said his former coach hasn't asked him to come back to help the struggling club.
Renney, the Rangers' coach, was fired, too.
Why didn't Renney and the Rangers ask him to return?
The Edmonton Oilers reportedly asked Jágr to return to the NHL and play for them, although the Oilers and Jágr deny the reports.
Two months ago, the rumour mill had Jaromír Jágr returning to play in the NHL for the New Jersey Devils, according to The Globe And Mail, and last month he was going to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
There's been talk of Jágr trying to squeeze out of his Russian deal, according to Ray Slover of Sporting News. He thinks Jágr should join Mats Sundin on the Vancouver Canucks for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The NHL and the KHL have an agreement about not approaching each other's players. The agreement has been broken by the KHL, according to the NHL. They say the Russian league poached Russian-born Alexander Radulov and other players.
The Rangers are fighting the KHL for compensation for Alexei Cherepanov, who died during a game with Jágr's team. The New York Rangers drafted Cherepanov with their first selection, 17th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
The NHL is dragging its heals about committing to the 2014 Olympic Games, to be held in Russia, because they are not happy with their relationship with the KHL.
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