Is this about who is the better player or who won the trade?
Ignoring the trade for a second, I would have to give the nod to Iginla for being the better player. Even though Iginla is still playing and likely will for a number of years, right now both guys have very similar career stats in the NHL.
Nieuwendyk had 564g and 562a for 1126p in 1257 games.
Iginla has 530g and 576a for 1106p in 1232 games.
The difference though is that Nieuwendyk was playing in the high flying 80s where guys were putting up 199 point seasons and "scoring was easy". Iginla put up those stats in a much more stingy NHL where goals were hard to come by.
Both players are great and have obviously put together amazing careers but I would think that if these guys were the same age, at the same time, playing in the same NHL, that Iginla would come out on top.
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