[Dion]

Hudlers comments on the game and the flu

“They didn’t want me on the plane because it’s going around ... but I got up this morning and I talked to the trainers,” Hudler said, sporting the Flames’ fire hat for their hardest working player. “We booked a flight after lunch. We weren’t sure. But if I’m travelling that far, I want to play.

“We’ve been in the (overtime) situation before. It wasn’t a good feeling. But I thought we played a hard game and we played well. (Flames goalie Reto) Berra, especially. I thought we deserved the two points.”

“Russ had the puck on the blueline and I thought he was going to pass to me and they hit a couple of their sticks and I got lucky enough,” Hudler said. “I didn’t hit it as well as I wanted to. It hit the top of my stick and went in. I thought he was there right in front of it. I wasn’t sure it was going to go in but a lucky bounce.”

Hartley and his game plan...

“That was our plan,” said head coach Bob Hartley. “Basically, a carbon copy of the game we played in L.A. We didn’t want to open up against all that offensive talent they have. Just making sure we were playing good in our zone and hopefully some chances would come.

“Stempy gave us a big goal in the first and I felt we were very close to playing a perfect game.”

“You have a choice to roll up your sleeves and keep going and go after the win,” Hartley said. “Or just basically sit back and watch them take an extra point from you. Our guys deserve lots of credit. They battled back, showed lots of character. It’s a good win for us.”

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...350/story.html

Passing the torch from Iginla to Monahan

“I met him in Calgary before the draft when they were bringing him in (for interviews),” said Iginla, 36, the Calgary Flames all-time leader in goals, assists, points and loyal fans.

“I’ve obviously read about him and his early success. It’s great for him. I remember as a young guy how exciting it is.”

“Being a younger team, it’s great to have guys like him and Baertschi and Brods (T.J. Brodie),” Iginla said.

“I wish them all the best.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/12/07...f-flames-baton

Jarome Iginla still has Calgary in his blood

“It still feels like I’m coming home,” said Iginla, who will play his first NHL game in Calgary as a visitor Tuesday when his Boston Bruins face the Flames.

“It’s not just the hockey side of it but the city — I grew up there for a lot of years. I’m excited about being back in the west and the mountains. The size, the familiarity, the friends and knowing how to get around and how friendly people are. I definitely loved my time in Calgary. It feels weird not having a place there.”

“I hope to get together with the boys,” said Iginla, who stays in touch with several Flames folks like Michael Cammalleri, Craig Conroy, trainers and staffers like Peter Hanlon and Sean Kelso, amongst others.

“There are lots of turnovers there but I still play fantasy football and baseball with some of the guys. We all get busy but there’s the odd text here and there just to stay in touch and see how things are going. I talk to Cammy probably a little bit more and Connie, too.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/12/08...y-in-his-blood

Iginla says time was right for trade from Calgary Flames

“I don’t think I waited too long at all,” Iginla told the Calgary Sun days ahead of his emotional return to the Dome Tuesday.

“I look back and I honestly try not to live and wonder ‘what if I did this or that?’ I don’t think to myself, ‘wow, I waited too long and things are great now.’ The last couple years were probably tough but it was the right time from my point of view.”

“He had discussed with me at the beginning of the year — the lockout year — that if it was a tough start around trade deadline we may have to go down that (trade) road,” said Iginla, 36, who was entering the fifth and final year of a contract paying him US$7 million annually.

“But I was well aware of that. My head wasn’t in the sand.
“It was a hard year, same as the year before. I wanted us to be successful, ultimately win and not have to move on. But the whole time, I’m like, ‘if we are in the playoffs, maybe I’m not moving.’ We’d win a few games and I’d think, ‘I might stay.’ There were a lot of ups and downs and fear of the unknown because I felt fortunate to have played there as long as I had.”

“With my contract expiring, if they were rebuilding I didn’t want to go through that,” said Iginla, pointing towards the notion he likely wouldn’t have re-signed in Calgary had he not been traded, which would have left the organization with nothing to show for the unrestricted free agent.

“I also feel like I left everything on the table. I wanted to win in Calgary and we were so close and I wanted to give it every shot I had. It was a goal and a dream to win here and I did my best. We just weren’t able to get it done.”

“Now I wish the Flames the best, and I’m also enjoying my experience in Boston,” said Iginla, whose first trip back to the Saddledome Tuesday night will feature a lengthy standing ovation during a first-period video montage.

“My family is happy with the changes — we’re settling down, and in terms of the future, it still all depends. I’ll take it as it comes. We don’t now how it’s all going to unfold.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/12/07...oesnt-think-so

Calgary Flames draft pick eager to watch Iggy's return

“I grew up a Flames fan and loved watching Jarome play,” he said. “The things he did for the city and the team were pretty special. When you look a guy like Daniel Alfredsson and how, when he returned to Ottawa and got a great ovation there, I think it’ll pretty much be the same thing with Jarome.”

“I do my best, looking at scores and talking to Sean Monahan — we got to be pretty good friends from development camp and main camp,” he said. “I’m trying to keep tabs as much as I can, watch games when I have the chance. It’s tough to watch every game.”

“When I first saw Sean play, I was impressed with how smart he was and how well he played the game,” Klimchuk said. “When I saw him do as well as he did at main camp, I was pretty sure he would have a pretty successful year this year and a successful career to come.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/12/08...h-iggys-return

MacInnis remembers what Jarome Iginla will go through

“I remember people being great. Walking on the street that day, coming in at the back of the rink, seeing a whole bunch of familiar faces, my first shift. It just felt . . . comfortable. Very supportive. As if I’d never left at all. I got a bit of ovation — not, I’m sure, what Jarome is going to get — but it was nice. Flames fans are great. They always supported the team, supported me. You don’t think about those things as much as you should, maybe, until after you’re gone.”

“But you never,” says MacInnis, “forget where you started.”

No. It’s like growing up in a neighbourhood as a kid and then one day moving away. You’ll never forget the friends you made, the house you lived in, the hideouts and the parks and the idiosyncrasies of streets. And whether it takes six months to finally get back and pay a visit or six years or 60, such places will always trigger memories that can never be fully extinguished.

You can say you’re ready,” says MacInnis, “and maybe you even believe you are. But, like I said, for me it was a lot different than I’d imagined.

“With Jarome and what he’s meant to the city and to the team, it’ll be very, very emotional, I’m sure. In terms of popularity, it’s probably him and Lanny (McDonald), right?

“I’m sure the reaction will be great.

“And I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/...451/story.html