[News] Iginla soaks up Pens’ atmosphere

[Buff]

Originally Posted by return to the red

I might be in the minority here but this kind of angers me. "there are things here that make it conducive to helping you get ready to play" WTF Iggy, you were the captain and this is a new concept? No wonder this franchise toiled in mediocrity for years

To be fair, Pittsburgh has a brand spankin' new building where they were able to build in all the extras for the players while Calgary has a really old arena with lots of seats.

[The Yen Man]

Good for Iggy, can't wait to cheer him on in the playoffs!

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by drPepper1

Flames facilities must suck at the dome.

The Dome is an old arena. I am sure the facilities at the Igloo weren't the greatest either.

[bluloc]

Good for him, I"ll never forget that 2004 run, but we are much better off with out him. He's a great guy but over the years its become obvious he was the wong person to lead this organization forward. Its just to bad that we decided to trade him a few years to late.

[FlamesAddiction]

“I was here less than a week and I could tell why they have this winning tradition with the Penguins. It’s a winning atmosphere.”

Sorry, this part bugs me too. Their "winning tradition" revolves around getting the 1st overall pick twice when there just happened to be a generational talent up for grabs. It was also the last generational talent that helped convince the city pay for a new arena with all of those awesome facilities.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Meh, they were able to put a lot of good pieces alongside their franchise player.

[Max Cow Disease]

I'm going to echo others in saying that it's the Flames crest that is ultimately all that matters going forward. I didn't agree with those that always said that hockey's "strictly business" and that Iginla shouldn't have been granted any special treatment by the organization or fans, as I do think that hockey, being an entertainment business, has an amount of sentimentality built in to it (and part of that sentimentality is the attachment that fans develop to certain players).

That said, now that it's been a couple of weeks, my focus has turned entirely to the exciting new direction in which the Flames are now headed. It was lame to see Iggy go, and he'll always be a lot of people's favourite, but he's now just a dude playing for another team. As much as he brought to this city and team, the excitement and enthusiasm that's being generated over the new young players that we're gearing up to acquire this off-season is far fresher and more engaging than the excitement of watching Iggy's version of the Flames wallow in mediocrity the past few years.

Edit: ...and realizing that the above rant's almost entirely off-topic, it is indeed good to see that the Penguins have received him well, and that he's enjoying his time there so far...

[Envitro]

Same here.

However, I cannot wait to have our new arena plans announced so that we can catch up to the majority of the league in newer facilities that are geared around players having more "forced" opportunity to build rapport and hang out together.

Why not video/entertainment rooms where players can hang out after practice and play some games on giant HD projector screens and full surround sound. Breakfast/meal rooms and all that jazz too...

[mac_82]

From the original article that sportsnet references:

http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/...#axzz2Pp5VTl5M

The mandate of majority co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle is to “build the kind of franchise that people want to come and play for,” Morehouse said.

“We want to treat our players better than anybody else treats their players,” Morehouse said, recalling the two years team officials spent touring dressing rooms of NHL, NBA and MLB teams so that the Penguins could make good on Burkle's request to “build the best dressing room in sports.”

“When players are traded here or sign here, we want them to know right away that they're going to be treated the best,” Morehouse said.

Hope the Flames are taking notes for their new arena.

[Dr. Pepper]

Originally Posted by Muta

Calgary's new arena plans will blow it out of the water, though. Trust me on this. Pittsburgh's will look second-rate compared to what's coming.

You have an inside scoop or something on the designs or the plans? Do tell...

[dino7c]

yeah like most have said its a brand new arena...and it has nothing to do with the "winning tradition" The pens are a good team because they sucked and got top picks, and won the Crosby lottery. Lets be honest here, and they don't even look very good without Sid in the lineup.

Also, the Pens can re-sign Iggy for 5 plus million if they want, he will be overpaid for what he brings these days.

love the memories, guy has 10 goals this year

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Muta

Calgary's new arena plans will blow it out of the water, though. Trust me on this. Pittsburgh's will look second-rate compared to what's coming.

Ok...you're giving me a chubby here, what plans? How do you know it will "blow them out of the water"?

MOAR INFO!!!

[blankall]

Iggy is just one of those guys who almost always speaks in a positive manner. It's just a little hard not to get butt-hurt when he's doing about another team for once. Not sure what people expect here. He's going to move to a new team, and then start pointing out how the old team was better?

[Muta]

Sorry guys, can't say anything. Would love to... just imagine that we will have the best hockey experience in the league when it is completed. But then again, that would be the point of any new facility. Let your imaginations fly.

[GreenLantern]

Their arena is brand new is it not? Doesn't surprise me that it is an upgrade over the Dome, which is in its twilight years.

Good for Jarome, glad he is having fun there and I still wish him nothing but success.

[Sutter_in_law]

Originally Posted by Muta

Sorry guys, can't say anything. Would love to... just imagine that we will have the best hockey experience in the league when it is completed. But then again, that would be the point of any new facility. Let your imaginations fly.

so do you actually know anything, what connection do you have to the organization? don't you live in New Zealand?

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by Muta

Of course the Consol Energy Center is awesome... it's the newest building in the league. I'd be dissapointed if he said otherwise.

Calgary's new arena plans will blow it out of the water, though. Trust me on this. Pittsburgh's will look second-rate compared to what's coming.

What are you, some kind of building insider?

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by devo22

not too surprised, Pittsburgh comes across as a very player-friendly organization.

I think Iggy is pointing out what makes makes us and them different, obviously as an organization we have a ways to go before we get to that level. Sounds like they have facilities catered to keeping players lose and focused, connected. Also sounds like they are doing things that make players feel valued appreciated to be part of the team. I hope Iggy will pass on a few tips for Conroy and we can look at what we need to do as an organization to make Sven, and our future prospects players feel like they are part of something special. The Flames organization needs to look long and hard at what they can do to allow us to become a winning organization on the outside and on the inside. Seems like the last few years our players don't seem to bring it as a unit, we don't strive to be the best. We are too inconsistent in too many areas with how we treat our players and prospects, the organization seems lost from one season to the next in terms of having a solid plan.

I am glad Iggy has had the chance to see things from another point of view and maybe that's just what we need to look at in order to grow into a winning organization.

[LouCypher]

Good for him. Goes to show how much some of the little details help create the right atmosphere. Hard to say what goes on here, I know the Flame's are known to treat players well but maybe they miss out on the small details and focus on bigger things like NTCs and NMCs which really don't help out the team much. Id rather have the shooting room heheh.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by DazzlinDino

I think Iggy is pointing out what makes makes us and them different, obviously as an organization we have a ways to go before we get to that level. Sounds like they have facilities catered to keeping players lose and focused, connected. Also sounds like they are doing things that make players feel valued appreciated to be part of the team. I hope Iggy will pass on a few tips for Conroy and we can look at what we need to do as an organization to make Sven, and our future prospects players feel like they are part of something special. The Flames organization needs to look long and hard at what they can do to allow us to become a winning organization on the outside and on the inside. Seems like the last few years our players don't seem to bring it as a unit, we don't strive to be the best. We are too inconsistent in too many areas with how we treat our players and prospects, the organization seems lost from one season to the next in terms of having a solid plan.

I am glad Iggy has had the chance to see things from another point of view and maybe that's just what we need to look at in order to grow into a winning organization.

Orrr you know.. Suck so badly that we are by luck handed a generational elite player, then put in a few jacuzzis and a wall for the guys to shoot at, and throw up a few portraits to make them feel important, hug some babies and, wham! "Winning Organization" complete.

I didn't realize that seven digit pay cheques weren't enough to make them feel good about where/what they were doing. I think I'd feel pretty loose and focused if I knew my financial woes were taken care of for five lifetimes.

Just saying.