Czech-born Jaromir Jagr now knows how closely specific words can be misinterpreted in the English language.
"I was shocked -- not disappointed," Jagr said Thursday, downplaying remarks he initially made to a Czech reporter the day before when Penguins general manager Craig Patrick informed Jagr that he was headed to Washington.
"You have to understand, I wasn't expecting anything else but the Rangers," Jagr said. "Newspapers and internet, everyone was talking about the Rangers."
With trade rumors escalating throughout last season, Jagr was anxious to settle matters before the start of the new season.
"I was putting a lot of pressure on my agent because I wanted to know (where I was going) and be ready before the season started," Jagr said during a conference call from the Czech Republic, where he is spending the offseason.
"It's going to be a change, for sure -- a new experience for me," he said. "I haven't played for anyone but Pittsburgh. It's going to be strange, but hopefully, I'm going to get used to it pretty quickly.
"I'm happy right now."
Jagr is happy because he's out of Pittsburgh. After a sub-par playoff performance -- two goals in 16 games -- intense scrutiny surrounded Jagr. After 11 seasons and two Stanley Cups with the Penguins, Jagr no longer was the team's glamour boy. The media and fans turned on him, and with that, so did his on-ice play and off-ice demeanor.
As the questions mounted, Jagr withdrew even more and resulted in more probing.
"Media is a very powerful thing. Whatever they say, people believe," Jagr said about how things were amplified in the press. "In the playoffs, it was like a storm for me."
It was about that time Jagr knew his time in Pittsburgh was over, even before talk of his unmanageable salary of $20.7 million over the next two years came to the forefront.
"A lot of things didn't feel right. I just felt that after we lost in the third round, it was time to move on," he said. "All the pressure in the playoffs and from the media, I knew if I wanted to be the same player, I had to go somewhere else."
Now that somewhere is Washington with the Capitals, a team that has struggled in past playoffs against Jagr's Penguins. Jagr plans on ending Washington's four-year postseason skid against Pittsburgh. Of course, that means Jagr would face Lemieux.
"He was my idol since I was 15 years old," said Jagr, admitting it will be strange playing against Lemieux and the Penguins. "He called me yesterday after the trade and wished me good luck and said it's a business. And I understand."
Another thing Jagr understands is that he needs to restore his reputation, and the only place to do that is on the ice. Amazingly enough, there are some doubts about the 6-foot-2, 235-pound right wing who scored 52 goals and amassed 121 points last season.
"I want to work out a little bit more than I did before and see what it will do for me. I've already started practicing," he said. "I have big goals for myself, and I'm ready for the challenge.
"The No. 1 thing is to be ready for hockey. If hockey goes good, everything will go good."
Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com and can be reached at
brian.shactman@espn.com.
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