Jagr turned down richer offers to join the Flyers

All things considered, Jaromir Jagr would rather be in Philadelphia.

In a conference call with reporters on Saturday, the new Flyers right winger said he signed a $3.3 million, one-year deal Friday even though "there were a lot more teams with a higher offer than Philadelphia."

A future Hall of Famer who ranks 12th in NHL history with 646 career goals, Jagr returns to the league after playing three years in Russia's KHL.

Jagr, 39, said he didn't expect to become a Flyer.

"I didn't think I was going there, but after the conversation with the coaches and Chris Pronger, I started to like it," said Jagr, who had offers from the Penguins (who reportedly offered $2 million) and Red Wings, among others.

The Flyers are counting on the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Jagr to replace the production supplied by Ville Leino, who had 19 goals and 34 assists last season and signed with Buffalo on Friday.

"He plays a lot like Ville, only he's bigger," general manager Paul Holmgren said. "He holds onto the puck like Ville, makes plays out of the corner and on the cycle, and he's great on the power play."

Holmgren said Jagr, a fitness addict, would be "a good role model for the young guys."

Jagr said he liked the Flyers' makeup and their move to acquire goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. "They're not only good defensively, but they're also good offensively, and that's very important in the new style of the NHL," he said. "I'm going to have an opportunity to play a little more than [I would] with other teams."

After he signed to play in Russia three years ago, "there were very good offers from the NHL," Jagr said. "But I told myself I'm not going to look back, because I already did what I did. . . . I had already made the promise."

During recent negotiations, Jagr said he didn't tell Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux that he would return to Pittsburgh.

"I didn't promise anybody anything, that I was going back," he said. "The Penguins seemed like I did something wrong or something bad, and I don't think I did something bad. . . .

"If I hurt somebody, I apologize, I didn't mean it, but this is my life, and I want to make the choice."

Jagr said he hoped the three-year layoff from the NHL wouldn't hurt him, adding he prefers the league's smaller ice surfaces over the KHL's because it enables him to use his size to his advantage. "I couldn't play the same style" in Russia. "I had to change, had [to] skate a lot more."

Added Jagr, "I could easily stay in Russia, make a lot more money, and play 60 games. I wanted to try it. I wanted to have the feeling. I believe it's for my good, and hopefully the team, too."

Breakaways. The Flyers are close to signing restricted free agent Wayne Simmonds. . . . Former Flyer Simon Gagne signed a two-year deal for $3.5 million a season with the Kings, and he will be reunited with center Mike Richards, and coaches Terry Murray and John Stevens. The Flyers didn't have the cap room to sign both Simmonds and Gagne.