Iginla used to be my favourite player back in the day, even though I am not a Calgary fan. So I am glad to see him move to a contender, even though it certainly would have been nice to see a player who entered the league more recently than Lidstrom finish his career with one team.
Calgary Flames get:
- Ken Agostino,
- Ben Hanowski,
- 2013 1st round pick
Pittsburgh Penguins get:
- Jarome Iginla
Agostino is a high-scoring college player. As is Hanowski. But we all know that just because you light it up in US College doesn’t mean you will light it up in the NHL. To be fair, both of these guys have been point-per-game players, which is more than can be said for the Leafs’ recent college prospects. But who knows if either is a legit NHL player. We will know more when they get in the AHL.
The first round pick should be very low, if the Penguins live up to their now gargantuan expectations.
If the Pens don’t win the Cup with both past-his-prime Morrow and past-his-prime Iggy (and Douglas Murray) then the combination of these deals will look bad, but not terrible. The Pens honestly didn’t give up that much for Iggy, especially if they make it to the Conference Finals or beyond. Unless one of these college prospects turns into a top 6 forward for the Flames, it’s hard to even contemplate this particular trade as a loss for them. (Unless of course that pick somehow turns into a star, which is certainly not outside the realm of possibility.) The worst part of these deals really does look like the Morrow prospect they gave up for Morrow.
On the other hand, the Pens now have a lot to live up to. With Morrow likely now a Top 9 forward, and with the Crosby-Iginla chemistry of the past, it’s hard to see how the Pens are anything but the absolute favourites to come out of the East. That all depends on Fleury of course, but if the Pens don’t at least play in the final this year has to seen as a huge disappointment.
That being said, the Pens gave up two low 1st rounders, a 2nd rounder, a 3rd rounder, a 5th rounder and a conditional pick for a future Hall of Famer, a former playoff performer, an NHL defenceman who is at least tough to play against sometimes, and a 5th round pick with a pretty damn good chance of winning the Cup for the second time in half a decade. I think if I were a Pens fan, I would do that trade over and over again.