Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Head to Head Comparison: Iginla vs. Sakic

Erick Estrada · 05-17-2013, 11:41 PM

I know people may think I'm some sort of Iginla hater but that's far from the truth. He's one of my favourite NHL players of all time. My issue with Iginla is more tied to the last 1/3 of his career and how Flames fans massively overrate him. There really is no comparison between Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla on a lot of levels. Sakic really was one of the all time great NHL players and Iginla was one of the all time great Flames players.

I also still see things like "Iginla willing the Flames to the finals in 2004" which is so untrue. Kipper had a season for the ages in net and Darryl Sutter did what he does which is make a group of individuals buy into a team concept that in turn makes the sum more than the parts. People really have forgotten the contributions of Gelinas, Conroy, Regehr, Simon, Donovan, Yelle, Ference, heck even Ville Nieminen. That wasn't even remotely close to the most talented roster in Flames history but it was by far the best team which is why they are so beloved. Iginla was a big part of that but without those other players and the team concept that team would have ended up no different than the 2007+ teams that failed miserably in the first round. The following four first round eliminations simply highlight how it was never about Iginla and all about the team as the team was never the same after 2004.

05-17-2013, 11:41 PM	#26
Erick Estrada Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Fernando Valley Exp:	I know people may think I'm some sort of Iginla hater but that's far from the truth. He's one of my favourite NHL players of all time. My issue with Iginla is more tied to the last 1/3 of his career and how Flames fans massively overrate him. There really is no comparison between Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla on a lot of levels. Sakic really was one of the all time great NHL players and Iginla was one of the all time great Flames players. I also still see things like "Iginla willing the Flames to the finals in 2004" which is so untrue. Kipper had a season for the ages in net and Darryl Sutter did what he does which is make a group of individuals buy into a team concept that in turn makes the sum more than the parts. People really have forgotten the contributions of Gelinas, Conroy, Regehr, Simon, Donovan, Yelle, Ference, heck even Ville Nieminen. That wasn't even remotely close to the most talented roster in Flames history but it was by far the best team which is why they are so beloved. Iginla was a big part of that but without those other players and the team concept that team would have ended up no different than the 2007+ teams that failed miserably in the first round. The following four first round eliminations simply highlight how it was never about Iginla and all about the team as the team was never the same after 2004.