Jagr didn't expect finding a new team to be so difficult

Jaromir Jagr expected to have an NHL job by now.

The 45-year-old unrestricted free agent said there's a couple NHL teams that have shown interest - so has Kladno, his hometown team in the Czech Republic - but he didn't anticipate the process dragging on this far.

"I didn't expect it would be so hard to get a job in the NHL this year," Jagr said from a Czech Republic exhibition game, according to Michael Langr of NHL.com.

"Most important is for me 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," Jagr said.

While he might not be the force he was earlier in his career, Jagr has remained productive as he's aged. Last season with the Florida Panthers, No. 68 suited up in all 82 games, and recorded 16 goals and 30 assists, which was good for fourth on team scoring. His output as the oldest player in the league leads him to believe he can still be used effectively.

"I know very well I'm not the same player like 10 or 15 years ago when I was able to win games by myself," Jagr said. "It's up to the coach what position he wants to use me. Maybe it would be even better for me if I played on a second or third line because I would play against worse players and worse defensemen. I didn't have much luck in my entire career, I always had to face the top defensemen. Even in Florida, I always played against the best, which was always very tough."

While he's steadfast in wanting to play a 24th NHL season, the window to court Jagr is quickly closing, as training camp is set to kick off in mid-September.