Report: Jarome Iginla 'Would Like To Go Somewhere' At Trade Deadline
By Bryan Altman
DENVER (CBS4) - NHL teams looking to add a veteran presence to their roster who still has a scorer's touch might be in luck as it appears that Avalanche winger Jarome Iginla is setting the stage for his departure before the NHL's trade deadline on March 1.
Currently the Avalanche sit in last place in the NHL standings and are 10 points behind the 29th place Coyotes, so the playoffs are essentially all but out of the question for this young Avalanche team.
The 39-year-old forward -- who will likely be a shoo-in Hall of Famer once he hangs up his skates for good -- spoke to Yahoo.com's 'Puck Daddy' blog about being dealt to a playoff-bound team before the deadline.
"I would like to, at the deadline, go somewhere," Iginla said told Puck Daddy. "I would like to be in the playoffs. I would hope that there is some opportunity to go and play in the playoffs. Those are the best games, the most fun for sure, and you have a chance to win. So no, I haven't given up on that chance to win."
Iginla's desire to skip town for one last chance at hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup is understandable.
He had a massively successful 16-year career with the Calgary Flames and played on some Cup-worthy teams that ultimately fell short in the playoffs. The closest Iginla came was in 2004, when the Flames lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Iginla joined the Avalanche in 2014 as a free agent, signing a three-year, $16 million contract with the team after short stints in Pittsburgh and Boston in the two previous seasons.
"I have enjoyed it (in Colorado) and there are lots of great young guys here," Iginla added. "And I think it's going to be a promising future. But yeah, my window's not the same as the other guys for sure."
The market for Iginla is sure to grow as teams inch closer to the end of the regular season and if Avalanche management are willing to part with the aging forward for draft picks or young prospects, Iginla will likely get his wish and wind up playing meaningful games into the early months of summer.
