DETROIT -- Former NHL scoring leader and league MVP Jaromir Jagr wants to return to North America, and Detroit is his preferred destination.

The Red Wings are exploring the possibility of signing the 39-year-old forward who has spent the past three seasons playing in Russia, Booth Newspapers has learned.

The Red Wings didn’t call Jagr. His agent, Petr Svoboda, called them. But Red Wings general manager Ken Holland has had several conversations with Svoboda, and coach Mike Babcock has spoken to Jagr.

Svoboda reportedly contacted Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers, two of Jagr’s former teams, as well as Montreal.

But Jagr would prefer to play in Detroit for the chance to play with highly skilled players Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and, if he returns, Nicklas Lidstrom.

The Red Wings consider it a gamble, since Jagr turns 40 on Feb. 15 and hasn’t played in the NHL since 2007-08. But they also believe it might be worth the risk if they can get the Czech native fairly cheap, since they don’t have to relinquish anything in return.

Holland declined comment, except to acknowledge that his club has been contacted and is exploring the possibility.

Jagr has good size (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) and the ability to hang onto the puck. It remains to be seen how much his offensive skills have deteriorated since he collected 25 goals and 46 assists in 82 games with the Rangers in ’07-08.

He is a five-time winner of the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring leader and the 1998-99 Hart Trophy winner as MVP.

Jagr has 646 goals and 953 assists for 1,599 points in 1,273 games in 17 NHL seasons with Pittsburgh, Washington and the Rangers. He ranks ninth on the career points list and is second only to Gordie Howe among right wings.

Jagr had 19 goals and 32 assists in 49 games last season with Omsk Avangard in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.

The Red Wings wrapped up two days of organizational meetings on Wednesday. While the main focus likely was to discuss potential free-agent targets to replace defenseman Brian Rafalski, they might also be in the market for a forward.

Despite finishing second in the league in goals — just one less than Vancouver — in 2010-11, the Red Wings might look to boost their offense.