Jaromir Jagr says Flames' interest in him 'has been there from the first day'

The 45-year-old winger remains unsigned as NHL training camps rapidly approach

September is here, training camps are weeks away and the 2017-18 NHL season is less than a month from commencing.

And the Jaromir Jagr saga is still in full swing.

Days after Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving downplayed rumors of the team's interest in the 45-year-old forward to the Calgary Herald, wondering aloud "where all this talk comes from," Jagr himself suggested the Flames were, at least at one time, among his suitors in free agency.

"The interest has been there from the first day," Jagr said, according to NHL.com. "But it's tough to consider how big that interest really was. Especially when it's changing from one day to another."

This follows an August report that Calgary had "kind of looked at" Jagr as a potential acquisition.

The former Florida Panthers winger, one of the NHL's all-time leaders in goals and points scored, also detailed what he's looking for in a new NHL home, which he has yet to find since hitting the open market July 1.

"It's about going to a team where they have, let's say, fewer wings; going to the team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup; and going to the team that plays similar kind of hockey as I do," he said, per NHL.com. "And to the team where I know there [are] a couple of players that I could click with playing together. Money is a factor, too. But not because of the money itself, but because if you took an offer with a minimal salary, it could easily happen that after the first half of the season they tell you, 'Bye,' and you don't have a spot on the roster anymore."

This is but the latest in an increasingly long list of Jagr commentary this offseason.

Since becoming a free agent, the 13-time All-Star has campaigned for his own skill level at age 45, been turned away by a Panthers team that reportedly promised to offer Jagr a new contract, fielded a lavish invitation to play for a minor-league team and openly considered suiting up for his own Czech franchise.