Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
I don't rate occasionally hitting and fighting nearly as important elements as consistent checking and defensive play. And the number of seasons in his career when Iginla consistently finished his checks could be counted on one hand with a couple fingers to spare. When I talk about all-around play, I mean as good without the pick or defending a lead as with the puck.
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Well CliffFletcher, we'll agree to disagree here. I generally enjoy your posts, we just don't see eye-to-eye on this. Fighting was an exclamation point on Iginla's physical game, it didn't define it. He was consistently one of the NHL best power forwards before he became one of the best forwards. His scoring and 96 point season put him on the map but he was a very capable two-way guy before that.
Let's not forget, that while people are consistently pointing to Joe's faceoff abilities here (which were amazing) Iginla was great on the faceoff dot as well, constantly taking key draws. The ability to win a face off was is a notch in Iginla's belt too, despite being a winger.