Flames Say Farewell To Iginla

Calgary Flames fans have been through the gauntlet of emotions over the course of Wednesday night and Thursday morning.  The talk of the departure of their captain Jerome Iginla reached a fever pitch when it was announced that he was being scratched from Wednesday’s game with the Colorado Avalanche.

Rumours  throughout the game ran wild that Jarome Iginla had been traded to the Boston Bruins.  The usually reliable Aaron Ward of TSN had announced that the trade was official, which led most media outlets to share his report. What was really happening behind closed doors was being kept very quite though.

The stunner of the evening came following their game with the Colorado Avalanche when the Flames announced that Iginla had been traded, not to the Boston Bruins, but to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

All reports have the Flames receiving forward prospects Kenneth Agostino, Ben Hanowski and a 2013 first-round pick.

Iginla, 35, joins the Penguins after spending his entire 16-year career with the Flames organization. The Calgary captain has appeared in 31 games this season, tallying nine goals, 13 assists and 22 points.

The deal solidifies two things, Pittsburgh’s if they weren’t already are now without a doubt the team to beat in the east, and That the long feared Calgary rebuild has begun.

There have been mixed reactions on the return Flames GM Jay Feaster was able to leverage from the Penguins but realistically Iginla was leaving as an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season anyway so any return is better than none.

Iginla waived his no-trade clause for the opportunity to join the Penguins. It wasn’t exactly a tough sell for Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero.

”He wants to win,” Shero said. ”My expectation is that he’ll be a really good fit in terms of the team and the guys that we have.”

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Iginla is the fifth-leading scorer among all active NHL players with 1,095 points (525G-570A) in 1,219 career NHL games. Iginla’s 525 career goals place third among active players behind only Jaromir Jagr (679) and Teemu Selanne (671).

Be sure to keep tuned into Awesome Canada for the latest breaking Canadian news, Canadian reviews and the most up to date Hockey news and NHL trade rumours as well as the latest on the Toronto Blue Jays, Canadian MLS teams and the CFL. If you have a story or article idea you would like us to feature please feel free to email us or to fill out our contact form, and we will be sure to investigate and possibly feature your idea. Dont forget to sign up for Awesome Canada’s latest contest for your chance to win a great prize.