If you are like me, you went to bed Wednesday night thinking Jarome Iginla was going to be a member of the Boston Bruins. But lo an behold, wake up this morning and he is actually a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Mar 22, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Calgary Flames right wing Jarome Iginla (12) controls the puck with Columbus Blue Jackets center R.J. Umberger (18) and center Mark Letestu (10) trail the play during the third period at Nationwide Arena. Columbus beat Calgary 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
One of the heart and soul players available at the trade deadline, Iginla was acquired for a pair of college prospects (Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hankowski) and a first round pick this season. Much of the speculation began when Iginla was held out of the lineup for last night’s Flames game against the Avalanche, and Boston held a player out of the lineup, fueling speculation that Iginla was Boston bound.
However, like I wrote over a month ago, Pittsburgh was the best destination for Iginla and his best option for a Stanley Cup this season. I also predicted that Pittsburgh was still in the Iginla race even though they had just acquired Brenden Morrow on the weekend, but wasn’t sure they wanted to get two potential expiring contracts.
the pens still have lots of cap space for Iginla, but do they want to rent 2 potential UFAs? #iginla #morrow
— Jared Crozier (@JCrozier_Sens) March 24, 2013
Now, the Penguins put themselves firmly in the driver’s seat for the Stanley Cup, and Boston will now start to scramble to target another player such as Martin St. Louis or Ryane Clowe. It is the second time in a week a top end trade target has chosen the Penguins instead of the Bruins, after Morrow chose to waive his no-trade clause to go to Pittsburgh as well.
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