EF: (1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (4) Boston Bruins. (Bruins SWEEP Pittsburgh 4-0!!).

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

I thought Iginla made a mistake switching from the "power" model to the "slim" one. He can still reinvent himself one more time, hit the gym, put the 15 lbs back on, and play the "low post" game. Not saying he can go back to being a franchise player, but he can still be very effective coming off the boards and going to the net. Whether he wants to, though, is another issue - that would involve taking a lot of punishment, and I wouldn't blame him if he said "no" at age 36...

To be honest he already loosks like molasses out there, putting on15 pounds will make him slower then Shawn Cronin.

Plus a 36 year old center drive player just isn't going to last long, most older players really go towards the perimeter not away from.

[Kaine]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

I thought Iginla made a mistake switching from the "power" model to the "slim" one. He can still reinvent himself one more time, hit the gym, put the 15 lbs back on, and play the "low post" game. Not saying he can go back to being a franchise player, but he can still be very effective coming off the boards and going to the net. Whether he wants to, though, is another issue - that would involve taking a lot of punishment, and I wouldn't blame him if he said "no" at age 36...

Perhaps a better approach at 36 would be to focus on positioning. What I mean by this is lets face it, he's not going to get any faster on the ice, and like you said he may not want to put his body through the punishing physical battles anymore of being a power forward. Given his lack of production compared to his prime years, I think he could still be a very effective player if he wasn't such a defensive liability. This is where the positioning aspect comes in, since he won't have the speed to keep up with some players, by training himself to always be in the correct place defensively (not coasting on the boards like he does now) he would be much more able to contribute at both ends of the rink.

Not suggesting he will be even close to a Selke nominee but being even half way decent at helping keep the puck from passing his own blue line would be a huge plus for him as this point in his career.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by IgiTang

Every time I think about the position Pittsburgh is in and that Jarome will likely be missing out on the SCF, I keep thinking about that Pittsburgh pick. Then I start to think, wow, Iginla has truly declined, lost a step and is losing alot of battles. Did Feaster ever do a good job with that trade considering he didnt have many options and he had to do something that many GM's would have had problems handling, trading a franchise player.

Kudos to Feaster! I feel bad for my favorite Flame of all time. But Wow.. what a great deal for Flames fans who could have seen us get nothing this off-season.

Feaster and ownership should get no "Kudos" for trading Iggy. They would have given their left nut to have Iggy sign a retirement contract with the flames. That contract would have screwed the flames even more. The only reason Iggy was traded was that Feaster read the team completely wrong.

[Kaine]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Feaster and ownership should get no "Kudos" for trading Iggy. They would have given their left nut to have Iggy sign a retirement contract with the flames. That contract would have screwed the flames even more. The only reason Iggy was traded was that Feaster read the team completely wrong.

Do you have something to back this up more than opinion? Not trying to be rude at all, I haven't followed the whole Iggy situation in quite some time so I may have missed something.

[Stay Golden]

The Pens were without a doubt the most talked about and predicted team to go to the SC prior and during the playoffs.
A big part of the reason that Iggy wanted to go there and the Crosby Iggy connection.
But the Bruins have been underestimated since they struggled to finish off the Leafs but people forget they had them down 3 games to 1. They were close to sweeping the Leafs.
They almost swept the Rangers.

Historically the first round is usually a struggle for the Bruins. So i wasn't surprised about the series going 7. I predicted that could very easily happen but that game 7 3rd period comeback was nothing short of a miracle. Never accomplished before by any team a game 7 3rd period comeback down 3 goals. The thing i know from being a fan for 3+ decades of this team. They are a team culture that when they are built tough they thrive on being the underdog and that set up the Pit series perfectly for them. Even though they are a deep team they always go in thinking we are the underdogs but because we all will work our butts off we are going to come out on top.

Sure Pit should be winning or even in this series but look at almost all the Bruins faces all cut up and they are hobbled but they don't care because its the price you pay.
Can the same be said for most of the Pens.

[theg69]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Feaster and ownership should get no "Kudos" for trading Iggy. They would have given their left nut to have Iggy sign a retirement contract with the flames. That contract would have screwed the flames even more. The only reason Iggy was traded was that Feaster read the team completely wrong.

I understand your sentiment but I don't agree with you.
My argument is that if they wanted Iggy sign a retirement contract, it would have been done already regardless of circumstances. It sounded like Iggy was willing to stay with the Flames if they remained committed to trying to make the playoffs (which obviously became more and more an unrealistic goal).

I would state that the reason Iggy was traded was for the first time, Feaster read the team right for once and recognized we needed a rebuild.

I still feel that Iggy was traded 2 years too late but in hindsight, the return we got was not as bad as I first thought.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Kaine

Do you have something to back this up more than opinion? Not trying to be rude at all, I haven't followed the whole Iggy situation in quite some time so I may have missed something.

KK and Feaster going into last summer said that re-signing Iggy was priority #1. KK even said that Iggy will retire a flame. Conroy last summer said that Iggy should never play in another uniform. The only reason they did not get their wish was that when they approached Iggy, he was not sure he wanted to resign and was quoted on a "wait and see" approach.

[CliffFletcher]

It's funny how it took Iginla playing for another team for a lot of fans to notice his deficiencies. The guy didn't all of a sudden get worse in the last couple months. He's been a slow, one-dimensional sniper for several years. Now that the hands are going, he doesn't bring much to the table.

[GoIggy]

I've watched probably 95% of Crosby's games in the NHL. I've never seen him perform at this low of a level. I think that's the major reason for all of this

Its amazing to me Geno doesn't have a point with how great he's played imo

Martin is (and has been) BY FAR the best defenseman on the pens. I'm tired of the Mike Green types getting all the love.

[Kaine]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

KK and Feaster going into last summer said that re-signing Iggy was priority #1. KK even said that Iggy will retire a flame. Conroy last summer said that Iggy should never play in another uniform. The only reason they did not get their wish was that when they approached Iggy, he was not sure he wanted to resign and was quoted on a "wait and see" approach.

Of course they said that sort of stuff. Do you really believe even if it was true they would have come out and said "We plan to trade him this year, the most beloved Flame of all time will not retire a Flame"?

They very well may have wanted him to retire a Flame but you don't have any actual facts to back up the rather sensationalist statement you made. "Would have preferred to resign Iginla" would have been more appropriate than "Given their blah blah" no?

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

It's funny how it took Iginla playing for another team for a lot of fans to notice his deficiencies. The guy didn't all of a sudden get worse in the last couple months. He's been a slow, one-dimensional sniper for several years. Now that the hands are going, he doesn't bring much to the table.

I agree with everything you posted. I find it funnier that some posters are blaming the Pitt coach and still can not see that Iggy is not a 1st line player anymore.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Kaine

Of course they said that sort of stuff. Do you really believe even if it was true they would have come out and said "We plan to trade him this year, the most beloved Flame of all time will not retire a Flame"?

They very well may have wanted him to retire a Flame but you don't have any actual facts to back up the rather sensationalist statement you made. "Would have preferred to resign Iginla" would have been more appropriate than "Given their blah blah" no?

You asked for backup, he gave you backup. What more do you want?

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

forgetting the iggy factor for a second, how can anyone NOT love everything about the boston bruins??

They literally have it all, and I hope the flames are taking a copycat approach on what a contending NHL roster should look like:
- High level skill -> Check.
- 2-way players on every line -> Check
- players that can take, as well as deliver Physical play on everyline -> Check
- Stifling/Rugged defence -> Check
- Mobile defence -> Check
- Difference making 4th line that you can throw out against anyone -> check
- great goaltending -> check

they're by far the most complete team in hockey today.

I'm actually a fan of what the Bruins bring, but it's not hard to hate Marchand, and sometimes one DB is all it takes to hate a team.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

To be honest he already loosks like molasses out there, putting on15 pounds will make him slower then Shawn Cronin.

Plus a 36 year old center drive player just isn't going to last long, most older players really go towards the perimeter not away from.

Perhaps, but Andrew Brunette did well without being able to outskate a 14 year-old. And he went to the dirty areas right until the end. Now, Brunette probably has a better hockey mind than Iginla, so the comparison may not be applicable...

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by Locke

Look at when they won the cup, they were taken to game 7 in every single series. It just doesnt faze them.

Pretty sure they swept a team in there?

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Kaine

Of course they said that sort of stuff. Do you really believe even if it was true they would have come out and said "We plan to trade him this year, the most beloved Flame of all time will not retire a Flame"?

They very well may have wanted him to retire a Flame but you don't have any actual facts to back up the rather sensationalist statement you made. "Would have preferred to resign Iginla" would have been more appropriate than "Given their blah blah" no?

I just don't get CP sometimes. Why can't the words of the president, manager and assistant to manager (Conroy) be what they actualy meant? Instead CP has to make some "conspiracy theories" to make management and ownership not look like fools.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

I agree with everything you posted. I find it funnier that some posters are blaming the Pitt coach and still can not see that Iggy is not a 1st line player anymore.

I like Iginla and appreciate what he's done for the Flames... but some stuff about how Blysma is failing Iginla (just like Babcock failed to coach Iginla in the Olympics, or Brent failed Iginla, etc).... really Iginla was a dominant player in his prime, but the past few years he has really declined. The fact that he became more of a one-dimensional player didn't help his cause either, whereas in his prime he would go back into his own zone and get the puck and start a play; he's waiting for the puck more. He used to be a bull in a China shop, but hasn't been that since 2007 and the past 3 years or so, looked weak on the puck. The past year is where he really seemed to lose speed. Players decline with age, it is what it is.....

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

I just don't get CP sometimes. Why can't the words of the president, manager and assistant to manager (Conroy) be what they actualy meant? Instead CP has to make some "conspiracy theories" to make management and ownership not look like fools.

Not to mention posts saying Murray Edwards was dissapointed was caught off guard that Iginla wouldn't sign an extension as he thought his franchise player was going to retire a Flame.

Really, Feaster mis-read the team going into this season and he lucked out when his team sucked more then he expected, and his hand was forced. (see: multiple quotes about the Cali trip fail)

[Locke]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

Pretty sure they swept a team in there?

No they didnt. You have your facts wrong!
I was wrong, I forgot they swept the Flyers.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I guess I should have clarified, it's just my limited perception watching the guys on CBC, or listening the Fan960 rather than this thread, as I admit I haven't read through all the pages in here. All I hear from the media guys is how Iggy isn't playing well, but not really a lot on Crosby. I mean, last night's game, other than the shift where Crosby lost his helmet, I didn't think he played well either.

That's almost entirely limited to the Canadian media, particularly in Calgary, which is understandable because Iginla has been the face of the city for over a decade. In Pittsburgh, though, Iginla hasn't gotten much if any of the blame. I've been listening to a lot of Pittsburgh sport talk radio over the past few weeks, and Letang and Bylsma have gotten the bulk of the criticism, though more and more people are starting to question what's wrong with Crosby. I think that's fair.

Honestly, Iginla hasn't been enough of a factor in this series one way or the other to warrant much discussion other than as part of the criticism of Bylsma's stubborn refusal to go back to the power play unit that worked.