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Calgary, AB • Canada • 29 Years Old • Male

Captain Jarome

Posted 3:40 AM ET | Comments 17
With the season just around the corner, I thought I would run down the roster on the Flames one player at a time and prognosticate, if I may, about what lies ahead for each individual player. I would like to start this 22 part series by looking at the one, the only, Jarome Iginla.

The Captain. The team’s life blood. The franchise.

These are some of the words used to describe what Jarome Iginla means to the Calgary Flames. Coming off of a self-proclaimed ‘bad year’ though, many people in the city of Calgary have started to second guess if it would serve the Flames best interests to ship Iginla out of town when his value is still relatively high. Trading him before he gets too old and becomes useless has been one school of thought. I, on the other hand, totally disagree with that assessment and of course, if this were to happen, the city might literally go UP in flames; no pun intended. Ok, so it was a little intended.

"Personally, last year was an off year.” –#12

Off year? Fine, he didn’t produce at the level Flames fans have come to expect, but to totally write him off would be a mistake. Last season, he scored 32 goals and added 37
assists for 69 points; his lowest total since 05-06 when he had 35 goals and 32 assists.
Looking at Jarome’s consistency though, he has managed to score 30+ goals for 9 straight seasons, and 25+ for 11 straight. Since the dawning of the new millennium he has never had less than 67 points, and no one in the NHL has scored more goals than Jarome Iginla with 350. The $100 million dollar man Ilya Kovalchuk has 338.

Do we, as Flames fans, take Iginla for granted?

Hell yes we do!

The more impressive thing about Iggy is that he has done a lot of this on his own, figuratively speaking of course. Not one legitimate superstar has come to Calgary to feed him the puck. Mike Cammalleri was the closest thing this city has seen to a comparable star, and Flames management thought Olli Jokinen was a better fit. Don’t get me started.

I am a Jarome Iginla fan, if you hadn’t noticed already. Not only is he the ideal player on the ice, but he represents the Flames and this city off the ice better than anyone in the league. I would put money on it that he signs more autographs than any other player and definitely more than any other Captain in the league. Whether it’s during pre-game warm-ups, after games, at charity functions or just around town, Iginla represents the game and this city with class.

So, he had a bad year. A new coach, a new system, and a few setbacks for the greatest Flame of all time (yeah I said it!). The last time Iginla’s point totals dipped below the 70 barrier, he bounced back the next year with 94 points; his second highest point total ever.
Jarome will be better this year. He has said it himself and I, for one, believe him. He is the one player I never worry about when it comes to the Flames. It’s his supporting cast that has me feeling troubled.

Here is some food for thought. The Oilers traded their heart and soul (Ryan Smyth) away in 2007. Since then they haven’t made the playoffs and last year they were the worst team in the entire league. Sure the Oilers will be better eventually, but at what cost? I am sure there are more than a handful of people that wish that day never happened.

Jarome Iginla isn’t the problem and never has been; he is part of the solution.

Newman
twitter.com/TSRNewman
www.thesportsroundup.com
Filed Under:   calgary flames   jarome iginla   nhl  
September 15, 2010 4:23 AM ET | Delete
Hell yeah!!!
September 15, 2010 10:33 AM ET | Delete
As awful as it would be to see Iggy in another jersey, if this year goes as bad as it could, both sides really need to seriously consider letting him try winning somewhere else with a true contender (ala Ray Bourque) - while letting us get as many assets as we can for him to start the overdue rebuild. Let's face it, if and when we blow this team up, there's not much point for him to stay, other than just "loyalty".
September 15, 2010 11:21 AM ET | Delete
Disagree Rink, Detroit had losing years
September 15, 2010 11:23 AM ET | Delete
didnt jettison Yzerman. In a Cap world Iggy can be as much part of a solution as he can be on a quick rebuild. Cap does not = icing an AHL team like the Oil are going to do.
September 15, 2010 12:04 PM ET | Delete
So Boston shouldn't have let Bourque go to a contender to win a Cup? I thought that was classy stuff, actually. Boston was terrible at the time and had no shot...what if we're in the same boat? (When exactly did Detroit have losing years, other than Yzerman's first few years?)
September 15, 2010 12:22 PM ET | Delete
Well, he won them SCups in 97/98
September 15, 2010 12:24 PM ET | Delete
September 15, 2010 12:27 PM ET | Delete
September 15, 2010 12:49 PM ET | Delete
Rink, this isn't the same situation yet. Iggy's not looking to retire, he's still 6-7 years from that. 5 years from now, if it still hasn't happened, that's when you give him the opportunity to move on. Boston didn't trade Bourque for the return that they were able to garner, and that's what Flames fans keep driving at; the idea that we need to trade him while he's still worth a return. Newman, I agree 100%.
September 15, 2010 12:50 PM ET | Delete
Any Flames fan that wants to trade Iggy is like school in the summer...
September 15, 2010 1:13 PM ET | Delete
September 15, 2010 1:13 PM ET | Delete
Rink, I dont see how you think this season can be so terrible. We have a Franchise gGoalie, Franchise Forward, and If Bouw can elevate his game a top 5-10 dman in the league, Regehr is still one of if not the most dependable and reliable defenseman in the league
September 15, 2010 1:13 PM ET | Delete
and if you could coax 50-60 points out of Tangauy and Jokinen each (not out of reach) then you have essentially added 100-120 points to this team for 4.5 million approx......this team may not have the makings to win the cup but to assume that this will be worse than last year is assanine.
September 15, 2010 1:19 PM ET | Delete
We had all of that last year. We had Jokenin for 3/4 of the season...that doesn't add 50-60 pts. We had the goalie. We had the franchise forward. We had the reliable defenseman. I like Tanguay and all, but I don't think he makes us THAT much better. I know I'm overly pessimistic, but aside from serious bounce back seasons from about half a dozen players, I don't how this team can be much different from last year.
September 15, 2010 1:25 PM ET | Delete
I still diagree and may be overly optimistic but say Jarome gets 40 goals last year we likely wouldnt have missed the playoffs. We lost 11 games last year by either 2-1 or 1-0, 3 more wins and we were in the playoffs you dont think if Jarome scored 8 more goals (pretty easy for him) we wouldnt have made it?
September 15, 2010 1:50 PM ET | Delete
I will be more than happy to be wrong. [laughs]
September 15, 2010 10:01 PM ET | Delete
the thing that seperates us from last year is we have someone who we know can feed to iginla. last year we had bourque, and as much as i like him, he's not the type of player that iggy needs. tangauy has already proved that he can give iginla the puck and when iggy gets the puck good things happen. im actually looking forward to this year.
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