Penguins Add Iginla to the Mix
After 16 years in Calgary, Jarome Iginla will join Pittsburgh’s high-powered offense.
Pittsburgh has added veteran forward Jarome Iginla to its roster, after agreeing a deal with Calgary on Wednesday.
Iginla will head to Pittsburgh in exchange for college prospects F Kenneth Agostino and F Ben Hanowski, as well as a 2013 first-round pick.
The addition of Iginla marks the second team captain to join the Penguins this week, after a trade brought veteran Dallas leader Brenden Morrow to the Steel City on Sunday.
The move will bolster an already loaded Pittsburgh roster, a roster that has seen the team surge to 13 straight wins and the top spot in the Eastern Conference. With 52 points, the Penguins are just one point behind Chicago for the NHL’s best record.
Iginla made his debut for Calgary on Apr. 21, 1996, after being taken in the first-round (11th overall) of the 1995 NHL Draft. He played in two regular season games and two playoff games that season. He followed this brief stint by appearing in every game of the 1996-97 campaign.
In 1,218 regular season games, Iginla has recorded 1,095 career points (525 goals, 570 assists).
The forward has also appeared in 54 postseason games, tallying 49 points (28 goals, 21 assists).
The Flames went to the playoffs six times during Iginla’s tenure, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004. The side fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games that year. Iginla recorded five points (3 goals, 2 assists) during the finals.
In addition to his NHL pedigree, which includes six All-Star nods, Iginla has also won two Olympic gold medals with Canada (2002, 2010).
One of the NHL’s true iron men, Iginla has missed just 42 games in 16 seasons. The Edmonton native has played in 82 regular season games nine times, including each of the last five seasons and six of the last seven. His career average for games played in a season is an impressive 76.
Iginla has appeared in each of Calgary’s first 31 games this season, accumulating 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists). He was scratched from Wednesday night’s game, ending a streak of 441 consecutive games.
The deal was agreed during Calgary’s 4-3 home win over Colorado on Wednesday night. The team fielded calls from three clubs, and was reported to have reached a deal with Boston. Eventually the side agreed to the Penguins’ offer.
Iginla will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
Pittsburgh has gotten an early start ahead of the trade deadline next Wednesday (Apr. 3, 3:00 PM ET).
On Sunday the team sent D Joe Morrow and a 2013 fifth-round pick to Dallas in exchange for club captain Brenden Morrow and a third-round pick. Morrow agreed to waive the no-trade clause in his contract to join the Eastern Conference-leading side.
On Monday, the Penguins added eight-year veteran defenseman Doug Murray to the roster. Murray arrived in Pittsburgh from San Jose in exchange for a 2013 second-round pick and a conditional 2014 pick.
Pittsburgh (26-8-0, 13-4-0 home) returns to the ice on Thursday, hosting Winnipeg (18-14-2, 10-6-2 road) at Consol Energy Center. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 PM ET.
It’s unlikely that Iginla will join the team as it looks to win a 14th straight game. Instead he will most likely don a Penguins uniform for the first time on Saturday, when Pittsburgh hosts the New York Islanders.
Pittsburgh is favored (-205) over Winnipeg (+186) on the moneyline.
The two sides have met twice this season, splitting a pair of games played at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. The Jets won 4-2 on Jan. 25 while Pittsburgh scored a 3-1 win on Feb. 15.
For those that like to bet the spread, Winnipeg (-160) is favored to cover the spread (+1.5). The total (5.5) is favored to go over (-160), a result of Pittsburgh having the No. 1 scoring team in the NHL.
