[Rumour] Iginla willing to waive NMC at this years deadline

[Erick Estrada]

You guys remember Ryan Smith's final stop with Edmonton? I don't want that for Iginla or the Flames.

[FireGilbert]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

You guys remember Ryan Smith's final stop with Edmonton? I don't want that for Iginla or the Flames.

I remember Ryan Smyth's final stop in Edmonton. Not sure if you can compare Smyth going to a rebuilding Oilers for 3 years to Iginla being a rental on a playoff team.

[MarkGio]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Bringing Iginla back to the Flames right now is like giving Theo Fleury a contract after his comeback try-out a few years back.

Some I would love for nostalgic reasons, but makes no hockey sense....

I dunno about that. Fleury looked damn good in his last PTO. I still don't understand Sutter not giving him a 1yr contract, especially when Conroy had like 0 goals in his first 40 games. Keep in mind the Flames were a dwindling team back then under Butter, and a guy like Fleury would've provided some level of entertainment.

It would be different for Iginla IMO. With Fleury, Daryl thought the club was still a contender for the playoffs and therefore cup. Now Treliving hopes to make the playoffs but knows the franchise is still in the rebuild.

[GioforPM]

So you aren't signing Iginla to play on the fourth line. Or to sit in the press box. What winger sits? Chaisson? Versteeg? Tkachuk? Frolik?

If they are signing a rental, I'd rather one that might re-sign for the long haul. And Iginla isn't a long term guy.

[MarkGio]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

So you aren't signing Iginla to play on the fourth line. Or to sit in the press box. What winger sits? Chaisson? Versteeg? Tkachuk? Frolik?

If they are signing a rental, I'd rather one that might re-sign for the long haul. And Iginla isn't a long term guy.

A long term guy is 1) expensive to acquire, 2) Needs expansion protection, 3) Needs cap management.

But you make a good point on who to sit. Sure, if you're going after a clear upgrade like Kessel or Tarasenko, it's a no brainer that Chiasson or Versteeg get pushed down or out, but Iginla has produced less than all of the Flames RWs except Hathaway.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

A long term guy is 1) expensive to acquire, 2) Needs expansion protection, 3) Needs cap management.

But you make a good point on who to sit. Sure, if you're going after a clear upgrade like Kessel or Tarasenko, it's a no brainer that Chiasson or Versteeg get pushed down or out, but Iginla has produced less than all of the Flames RWs except Hathaway.

Iginla can't do what Versteeg does on the Monahan line. So it would have to be Chaisson, except Chaisson's defence is better.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Locke

3. The Fans understand that our RW depth is more or less reprehensible.

Is it, though?

The team obviously lacks a clear #1 right winger. That's a question of quality, not depth. For depth at RW, we've got Brouwer, Frolik, Versteeg, Chiasson, Hathaway. That's enough NHL-capable bodies to fill the available roster spots.

Bringing in Iginla would not solve the problem on the #1 line, because he is not a first-line player anymore. And if for some reason management did decide to add a depth player at RW, I suspect they would prefer one who doesn't carry a $5-million cap hit.

By the way, here's a question I haven't yet seen asked: Why does anybody assume Iginla would want to come back to Calgary? He never seemed to have any particular attachment to the city; never lived here in the off season. Once he was traded, he appeared to put Calgary and the Flames behind him pretty quickly.

If Iginla wants to be traded to a contender, there are several teams I'm sure he would rather go to at this point, and I can't see sentiment being a factor.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

I dunno about that. Fleury looked damn good in his last PTO. I still don't understand Sutter not giving him a 1yr contract, especially when Conroy had like 0 goals in his first 40 games. Keep in mind the Flames were a dwindling team back then under Butter, and a guy like Fleury would've provided some level of entertainment.

It would be different for Iginla IMO. With Fleury, Daryl thought the club was still a contender for the playoffs and therefore cup. Now Treliving hopes to make the playoffs but knows the franchise is still in the rebuild.

...Theo?

[GioforPM]

Fleury didn't look "damn good". He looked OK for a guy who hadn't played in the NHL for so many years. He was out of shape, though, and couldn't have sustained any kind of play IMO.

No other team signed him either, and they could have, like Versteeg.

[oldschoolcalgary]

I noticed that some folks were grousing about taking on Iggy's salary... but since he's a UFA next year, i was under the impression that Calgary would only be paying out whatever portion of his salary left at the time of acquisition?

if that's true, Iggy's actual salary impact, if acquired at the deadline, would be just whatever is left of the 5.33 deal at that time no?

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

So you aren't signing Iginla to play on the fourth line. Or to sit in the press box. What winger sits? Chaisson? Versteeg? Tkachuk? Frolik?

If they are signing a rental, I'd rather one that might re-sign for the long haul. And Iginla isn't a long term guy.

I don't think he's able to replace any of them... there would need to be an injury. But given Versteeg and Bouma's frequency on IR, I wouldn't bet against that happening.

Yes, there's a lot of really nice right wingers going UFA this offseason. However, the majority of those (and probably the same ones you're looking closely at to sign for longer) are on teams that are comfortably playoff-bound and won't be moving. Guys like Williams or Oshie.

The only teams that would be thinking of offloading guys as rentals would be those out of the race and probably the type you're cutting loose after the season. Right now that's looking to only be Iginla, maybe Doan. If Dallas falls out of the picture, Sharp.

Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary

I noticed that some folks were grousing about taking on Iggy's salary... but since he's a UFA next year, i was under the impression that Calgary would only be paying out whatever portion of his salary left at the time of acquisition?

if that's true, Iggy's actual salary impact, if acquired at the deadline, would be just whatever is left of the 5.33 deal at that time no?

Yes, salaries at the trade-deadline are pro-rated. You would be taking that cap on but only at the 25% of a season left. If we're gonna leverage Smid's IR relief, we should be able to take that kind of cap on. 5.3m AAV from the TDL this year (Feb 28 2017) would be $1,196,774 charged against the cap.

NHL.com explanation:

The salary that is charged against a team's cap is the pro rated amount remaining of the
player's average yearly salary. For example, if a player has an average yearly salary of $2 million, the amount charged against the acquiring team's cap is the pro-rated amount remaining of $2 million.

This is calculated by dividing $2 million by the number of days in the season (186). The
amount ($10,753) is then multiplied by the number of days remaining in the season from the day the trade is made (42 days if trade is on Feb. 28) to ascertain the amount charged against the team's cap ($451,613).

[Reggie Dunlop]

I'd pass on acquiring Jarome Iginla so late in his career. Give the big ceremony after he's officially retired.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Yes, salaries at the trade-deadline are pro-rated. You would be taking that cap on but only at the 25% of a season left. If we're gonna leverage Smid's IR relief, we should be able to take that kind of cap on.

NHL.com explanation:

The problem with using LTIR is it gets prorated unlike regular cap space.

So while Iginla's actual cap hit will be pro-rated at the trade deadline, so will be the LTIR relief the Flames get from Smid.

The Flames can't just use Smid's LTIR relief to acquire Iginla at the deadline, it won't be enough. At most it will cover roughly 2/3 of Iginla's cap hit and that is assuming the Flames aren't using it for any call ups at the time. They need to move salary out, have Colorado retain salary, and/or use LTIR relief from another injured player.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

The problem with using LTIR is it gets prorated unlike regular cap space.

So while Iginla's actual cap hit will be pro-rated at the trade deadline, so will be the LTIR relief the Flames get from Smid.

The Flames can't just use Smid's LTIR relief to acquire Iginla at the deadline, it won't be enough. They need to move salary out, have Colorado retain salary, and/or use LTIR relief from another injured player.

Would the space needed just be Iginla's AAV - Smid's AAV, all pro-rated? I guess only adding Bouma's would be able to cover that then. Still, with the way he throws himself at people and in front of pucks... wouldn't bet against him missing more time this year.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Fleury didn't look "damn good". He looked OK for a guy who hadn't played in the NHL for so many years. He was out of shape, though, and couldn't have sustained any kind of play IMO.

No other team signed him either, and they could have, like Versteeg.

We will disagree on this big time. Theo was one of the best forwards on the team in pre-season. He was not out of shape, he had trained his butt off and was in great shape for his age at the time. He totally should have been given a contract given what our roster had at that time and the fact he earned it with his play.

[Lanny'sDaMan]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

We will disagree on this big time. Theo was one of the best forwards on the team in pre-season. He was not out of shape, he had trained his butt off and was in great shape for his age at the time. He totally should have been given a contract given what our roster had at that time and the fact he earned it with his play.

Put me in this camp too. I thought Theo looked fantastic and should have slotted in on the second line of that abysmal team.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

We will disagree on this big time. Theo was one of the best forwards on the team in pre-season. He was not out of shape, he had trained his butt off and was in great shape for his age at the time. He totally should have been given a contract given what our roster had at that time and the fact he earned it with his play.

He didn't have NHL legs anymore.
He was a massive liability even strength because he couldn't keep up

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

He didn't have NHL legs anymore.
He was a massive liability even strength because he couldn't keep up

I thought his skating was about on par with what Jagr's is now and he seems to be doing ok. He still was putting up points in his pre-season games so he couldn't be that slow. The thing that disappointed me the most was he was willing to go to Abbotsford even to start there and they still snubbed him.

[saXon]

Theo's preseason sendoff was epic. Exactly what he needed, and his retirement was warranted. This was after a few years out of the league.

Jarome is still playing, and let's be honest. Most fans would relish seeing the former Cap and all-star come back for a final year. It would be one for the ages, regardless of playoff outcome.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I have to be honest. The biggest reason I don't want the Flames to acquire Iginla is that I couldn't take the blasting he would take on these boards. Some people remember him still as the Iginla of '04. That guy that put this team on his back and carried them through those playoffs, and for season after season. That's not him any longer.

He is slow. Every slow player on this team has often been accused of 'not caring' or not putting in a full effort. He can't get to the open areas for a shot. He can't fight through the traffic like he used to. He just isn't the same player.

I can see him fitting in on the 4th line. Who do you take out? Hathaway? Bouma? The most logical would be to remove Stajan (yep, going to get flack for that suggestion). Why? Because Stajan is also pretty slow. This team needs speed, so I would only be interested in Iginla replacing someone else that is slow. He has to come here knowing what his role is, rather than expecting to play with Gaudreau/Monahan/Bennett.

He will be blasted continually on these boards. That's for sure. People really need to focus on Iginla when they watch the Avs play - he looks so slow. A shell of his former self. If you didn't see "12 Iginla" on the back of his jersey, it is likely you wouldn't know who that player was.

With that being said, would it be a good story? For sure. Would the team rally around him? I bet they would. I think there are ways you can bring him in (and it will be free) that will help this team. Limited minutes on the the 4th line. 10 minutes to keep him fresh. He isn't that young Iginla that if he was playing poorly, you just kept increasing his ice time until he played through it.

He isn't going to be used on the top 3 lines. Though this team could really use a RHS on the PP, I have my doubts he would be good there either. However, he definitely could be a very good rallying cry for this team to make that push if they are still looking playoff bound.

As for him getting vetted - I don't think that is an issue. He has been to Pittsburgh, Boston and Colorado. Exactly zero bad stories about him, and countless others about how his work ethic and preparation are second to none on the team. I think he could make a good role model on how important it is to look after yourself and prepare the right way. His longevity and health in this league didn't come by accident.

I would be very apprehensive about Iginla. Anyone expecting much in the way of a stats-sheet contribution will quickly hate him. Anyone expecting him to play a rough and tumble game will be disappointed. Anyone expecting him to contribute positively on the defensive side of things will be disappointed. He is what he is at this point, and making the other players on this team rally around him and try to get him a cup would be his best contribution. I think he will still help the team win - pot in the occasional goal, stick up for a teammate occasionally, etc., but not something you would expect regularly.

I love Iginla, and I want to remember him as a dream of a player. I don't want to remember him like I remembered Lanny his last couple of seasons, and having the media joke around with him in saying: "Maybe you can play defence next year if you are slowing down, and maybe Goalie if that is too fast for you. hahaha"