Jarome Iginla says he hopes the Avalanche trade him at the deadline
The Colorado Avalanche are in the midst of a disastrous season and Jarome Iginla wants out.
The 39-year-old veteran winger told Yahoo!'s Puck Daddy that he hopes the Avs trade him to a contender before the NHL's trade deadline on March 1st.
“I would like to, at the deadline, go somewhere,” Iginla said before Colorado's game against the Kings on Wednesday night. “I would like to be in the playoffs. I would hope that there is some opportunity to go and play in the playoffs. Those are the best games, the most fun for sure, and you have a chance to win. So no, I haven’t given up on that chance to win.”
Iginla says he hasn't really talked to the Avs' front office or made a formal request to be traded, but seems optimistic that he'll be sent elsewhere for a playoff run.
Despite an illustrious career with the Flames, Penguins, Bruins and now Avalanche, the winger has yet to win a Stanley Cup and likely knows that his window is closing. It's hard to blame him for wanting out of Colorado, home to the league's last-place team.
He's also on the final year of a three-year deal and could be a rental for whichever team he goes to. He also has a no-move clause that he would have to waive to approve a deal.
Iginla is currently on pace for one of the worst seasons of his career with just six goals and 12 points through 47 games this year. With that being said, his value and production could certainly pick up with a change of scenery. If nothing else, he can add experience and veteran leadership to a contending team down the stretch.
Despite not making the playoffs in his three seasons in Colorado, Iginla says he doesn't regret his decision to sign there back in 2014.
“When I came here, I saw a lot of positives and from the outside looking in, the goal was to come and to try to help the team get better and ultimately win. It wasn’t just to make the playoffs. We were hoping to keep getting better and to build towards winning. It hasn’t worked out that way obviously but there’s lots of good pieces and the team has changed a little bit over the last few years and a couple of years and lots of different things but, are there regrets? No I don’t have any regrets,” Iginla said.
“I did the best decision that my family and I thought at the time and it’s been a lot of good things. It’s a great place to live and people in the organization have treated me really well and it’s part of sports. It’s the way it goes. I kind of feel like it all works out one way or another and do my best, that’s all I can do, you know?”
Iginla is certainly not the only name that Colorado will be fielding calls on as the deadline creeps closer. The team is reportedly willing to trade a few of its young centerpiece forwards -- including Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog -- if the right offer comes along.