Ice Hockey World Championship 2014

JaromirJagr (in red) during a game against Finland in the world championships on Belarus.

(Anatoly Maltsev/EPA)

Jaromir Jagr is retiring.



Don't panic, Devils fans. This is not another Ilya Kovalchuk situation.



Jagr, who signed a one-year contract with the Devils and will continue to play in the NHL in 2014-15, said after the world championships in Belarus that he has played his last game for the Czech national team.



That means, despite Jagr's joking all season, he will not participate in his sixth Olympics.



The Czechs lost the bronze medal game to Sweden on Sunday, but Jagr said he had no regrets about playing in the world championships after the Devils had missed the playoffs. He led the Czechs in scoring with eight points (four goals, four assists) in 10 games.



"The toughest thing I found out in my hockey career is the longer you take off during the summer, it's tougher to get back into shape," Jagr said. "So I'm glad I did it. I had 10 tough games here and three (tuneup games) before that. One month's extra practice, so I like it."



Over the last year, Jagr went to the 2013 Stanley Cup Final with the Boston Bruins, played all 82 games for the Devils this past season, participated in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia in February, and then played in the world championships.



"When I count the last two years, I think I've played the most games of any hockey player in the world," Jagr said. "I'm not 21 anymore. On the other side, I don't mind playing. I don't get tired.



"I took a chance. I knew it was going to be tough for me to come from the small ice to go on the big ice. I know it's join to help me next year."



Since 1988-89, Jagr has played in the Olympics five times (he won a gold medal in 1998 and bronze in 2006). This spring was the eighth time he played for the Czechs at the world championships, in addition to playing in the world junior championships and the World Cup.



He would have liked to go out with a medal, but didn't get one in the Olympics or the worlds.



"I think the biggest difference was we has six or seven guys on defense who played the first time ever at the world championships. They're all young and they don't have much experience," Jagr said. "The level is totally different.



"It doesn't matter you do in any leagues, there is a different level in the world championships. And there are other level likes the Stanley Cup. Everybody has too go through this and I think that was our biggest problem. You can't tell those guys anything. They're young and they're still learning."