It's a real tough dilemma all this Iginla/trade talk. My heart wants him to retire as a Flame. I want to be able to look at his stat sheet in the future and see everything done as a Flame. I want to tell my future kids how great it was having Iggy as the face of our team. My heart wants to be able to know that he carved out a HOF career as a Flame.
My brain tells me he needs to go. Iggy deserves a championship, and if that is his #1 priority then he has earned that right to decide if he wants to go. My mind also tells me that in order for this team to have a change of culture and direction, that the Iggy era needs to end in the hopes that the return he might fetch would help our team out in the future. It's a fact of life that trading Iggy would mean that we can acquire assets to build our team for the future.
It's an incredibly tough call to make. Keep Iggy on the team, and I fear that the team will be stuck in limbo until he retires. Trade Iggy, and I just might cry some man tears for a long long time.
I think that the absolute best possible scenario is for Iggy to be traded by the deadline, the re-sign with the team in the summer. But that's a lot to ask of someone who has dedicated his entire career to representing our city and game. Maybe winning isn't the most important aspect of Iggy's decision if he decides to stay. And I can respect that. He has built a life in this city and I know I'd be reluctant to move my family when I have established such strong roots. But I fear that with Iginla staying, managment will continue on with the ''win now'' philosophy. Iginla moving on means a change in team culture.
It's a real tough call to make, and I for one am glad that I am not the one making it. I just hope to God that management makes the right choice, whatever that may be.
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