Iginla leads Avs in scoring after 70 games

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by burnin_vernon

How do you know he had that attitude?

Because Rerun hates Iginla. Always has.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Igottago

I see this stated a lot, and I'm just not sure I agree that its true that Iggy became a me first player, focused on points and openly ignorant of the defensive side of the game or his coaches wishes. He probably was as declining as an all around player, I will say that, but I think thats more a function of aging.

Not saying he was a me first player.... just saying he thought he knew more than the coach.... or in other words.. what the coach was selling was horse####.

Originally Posted by Igottago

And yet...Iggy STILL produced, STILL led the way, and STILL maintained class throughout the entire ordeal.

That's leadership.

That's not leadership.. that's just being a very classy and talented player.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Not saying he was a me first player.... just saying he thought he knew more than the coach.... or in other words.. what the coach was selling was horse####.

It was

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Because Rerun hates Iginla. Always has.

I love Iginla....Great talent. Great scoring ability. Tough as nails.

I just wish he had the leadership qualities that Gio has.

I have a question for you and everybody else....

If Iggy was still a Flame who would you rather have as Captain.. Iggy or Gio? and why?



For me its Gio hands down. Gio is a much better leader than Iggy. Gio is a huge reason why we have a very good chance at making the playoffs.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

It was

That's not his place to decide...

[GoJetsGo]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Because he's declining in production, and forwards aren't an area of weakness for the Avalanche. Gaping holes on defense is their issue.

He's leading that team in points with his declining production, so yea, that is an area they need help in at present. As is defense as a whole.

Your take is ridiculous.

[GoJetsGo]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I
If Iggy was still a Flame who would you rather have as Captain.. Iggy or Gio? and why?



For me its Gio hands down. Gio is a much better leader than Iggy. Gio is a huge reason why we have a very good chance at making the playoffs.

It's easy to say this now. When Iggy was voted the best leader in the game by the players for several years, it would have been easy to say it was him.

Pretty easy to look back at that poorly constructed Flames team after it's over and point fingers at leadership.

They're both great in their own way, and there's just no need to single one out as being better than the other.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I love Iginla....Great talent. Great scoring ability. Tough as nails.

I just wish he had the leadership qualities that Gio has.

I have a question for you and everybody else....

If Iggy was still a Flame who would you rather have as Captain.. Iggy or Gio? and why?



For me its Gio hands down. Gio is a much better leader than Iggy. Gio is a huge reason why we have a very good chance at making the playoffs.

Right now..Gio. But that's because I think part of a leader's job is make sure he performs and gets the job done when it counts. Right now Gio is the better player. A few years ago Iginla was still that guy for the Flames, and he was that guy for many years.

Was Mark Messier a great leader? Was he still a great leader when he played in Vancouver and the team went nowhere?

What exactly makes Gio a better leader now than Iggy was in his prime? Does he make better speeches or something?

People overplay the leadership thing and always tie it to team results, when at the end of the day so many factors play into team results.

Gio is a great captain right now, he also has the luxury of playing with an extremely talented young core. Something that Iginla never had.

And the number one reason for the Flames chance at the playoffs stands behind the bench. That's the leadership that counts most.

[OzSome]

And people thinks he doesn't fit in with the Avs because he is too slow for the young guys. Good on Iggy!

[GranteedEV]

Gio is the perfect captain for this team because he's a very good player but also because the team around him is young and impressionable. By 2007 Iggy was still a great captain for younger guys like Phaneuf and Lombardi to emulate. Did anyone genuinely have predicted the problems that came later? Sutter selling the farm every year for vets, three straight coaches who had clear issues (Hartley is the best coach since Daryl Sutter, I don't know how you argue that), and the purported Phaneuf/Regehr fiasco?

...How do we know that a guy like, dare-I-say Sam Bennett doesn't end up the next Phaneuf in the locker room?

Gio is a great captain but no Captain has ever been successful with every issue. Chara couldn't reign in Kessell and Seguin either, and he's a Champion and one of the other best captains in the league.

[Erick Estrada]

Iginla wasn't all about the personal goals and assists but he believed that him going out and creating offense and scoring goals was the best way he could contribute to team success. This clashed at times with coaches and it's more of a situational issue of the player being made bigger than a team which IMO was a Ken King/owership issue of putting the guy on a pedestal and turning the club into Iginla and friends.

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I love Iginla....Great talent. Great scoring ability. Tough as nails.

I just wish he had the leadership qualities that Gio has.

I have a question for you and everybody else....

If Iggy was still a Flame who would you rather have as Captain.. Iggy or Gio? and why?



For me its Gio hands down. Gio is a much better leader than Iggy. Gio is a huge reason why we have a very good chance at making the playoffs.

It's great that we have our very own insider on how the flames dressing room worked.

[mile]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

What a huge mistake letting Statsny go in favour of Iginla.

Don't think it's a surprise the Avs rookies are having a down year after losing a top line two-way centre and replacing him with a 37 year old winger.

Don't think the Avs were thinking that they were replacing Statsny by signing Iginla...more like they let Stastny go in favour of going with a Duchene/MacKinnon/O'Reilly tandem and they signed a veteran winger to help make those centers better. Those three were expected to step up this year, especially Duchene.

I was very critical of Iginla during his last few years as a Flame, but he has done what's been expected of him this season.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by mile

Don't think the Avs were thinking that they were replacing Statsny by signing Iginla...more like they let Stastny go in favour of going with a Duchene/MacKinnon/O'Reilly tandem and they signed a veteran winger to help make those centers better. Those three were expected to step up this year, especially Duchene.

I was very critical of Iginla during his last few years as a Flame, but he has done what's been expected of him this season.

Agreed, I just think it was a colossal miscalculation on their part, especially given their tenuous-seeming relationship with O'Reilly.

Obviously they had to offer term to entice him to come, but that's also a mistake in my opinion.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Rerun

That's not his place to decide...

Decide what?
Iginla decided B Sutter was a terrible coach?

[CroFlames]

This thread deserves a bump.

With the Avs firmly OUT of the playoff picture, and with games vs Kings & Jets still to go, it's in our best interest to wish Iggy and his mates all the best.

I really hope he hits 30 again. He has already gained legendary status in my book, and 30 will just again cement my view and hopefully bring some doubters on board as well.

Go Iggy.

[Ozy_Flame]

Poor Iggy and Cammy this year. Gambled on the wrong teams for playoff contention.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Poor Iggy and Cammy this year. Gambled on the wrong teams for playoff contention.

Trudat.

However, I can't stand people who are like OMG Iggy is such a sellout. He just goes from team to team looking for a Cup. What a sellout.

Grinds my gears! Pens & Bruins both wanted to keep him, they just couldn't. And it's not like Iggy could just phone all 30 GMs and be like "hey, how much you gimme?"

There were only a select few teams that could take him and/or would take him.

I wish him all the best, except when it's directly head to head with the Flames.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Poor Iggy and Cammy this year. Gambled on the wrong teams for playoff contention.

Mo money, mo problems.

Neither one of them took an odds on favourite to win a Cup. Iginla took the best deal and chose an environment that suited him personally. I applaud him for the decision and can't say that I wouldn't do the same thing. I certainly don't feel sorry for them, especially Iginla who could have picked any team in the league to play for if the price was right. He signed in Colorado with his eyes open and focusing on the long term.

Anyway, nice to see him still scoring. It's unfortunate that playing through lockouts hurt his career stats.

[flames_fan_down_under]

So stoked to see Iggy play well. I was very impressed when I saw him play against Edmonton and Vancouver. He looked dangerous, was going to the front of the net, and had some nice chemistry with Duchene. He obviously isn't as quick with his shot release like he used to be but he's still extremely dangerous and it's a credit to his fitness. I hope he plays to 40 and signs a one day contract with the Flames and retires as a Flame.