It didn’t take Jaromir Jagr long to finally decide where to play next season. Actually the decision was done only hours after Glen Sather took the Rangers out of the running.

With options dwindling, the 36 year-old future Hall of Famer decided leave the NHL and signed a three year contact with Avangard Omsk in the new Continental Hockey League, the team Jagr play for during the lockout.

“It was the toughest decision in my life, hockeywise,” Jagr told the Canadian Press on Friday. “No question about it. I hate making changes … I’m thankful for the three years I had in New York. They were great years. I understand that I’m older and the team decided to go in a different direction because they couldn’t get the deal done.”

Without the Rangers, who decided to sign former Vancouver captain Markus Naslund, the decision was easy, because Omsk offered the most money and team general manager Anatoly Bardin public wooed the right wing starting in March. He also got a contact offer from the Edmonton Oilers.

“I kind of always got the feeling,” said Sather in a conference call on Thursday, “that maybe there was something in Russia that is really looking at him and if there was enough money to stay here he would’ve stayed but we never got down to that situation where I knew exactly what he was looking for, whether it was a one-year or a two-year, or a longer-year term. There was never any discussion like that. It’s pretty tough to negotiate with yourself.”

It’s believed Jagr will be making approximately $7 million U.S. tax-free a season and adds instant credibility to the new league.

But now for the first time since 1990, the NHL will be Jagr-less. He ends his North American career with 646 career goals, 11th on the all-time list and 1599 points.

Rangers sign Mara: Although they let their biggest free agents walk, the Rangers will have Paul Mara on the team next season. The defenseman confirmed to the Journal News he signed a one-year deal worth $1.95 million.