Jarome Iginla is now a King in Los Angeles.
Wednesday’s trade deadline deal sent the future Hall of Famer from St. Albert to his fifth team after breaking into the NHL with the Calgary Flames in 1996.
The Colorado Avalanche shipped Iginla to the Kings for a conditional fourth-round 2018 draft pick depending on Los Angeles making the playoffs.
Colorado will also retain half of Iginla’s salary. The veteran right winger is in the final season of a three-year, $16 million contract with an average annual value of 5.333 million, according to CapFriendly.com.
The six-time NHL all-star will become an unrestricted free agent on his birthday, July 1.
Iginla, 39, waived his no-trade clause with last-place Colorado for a shot at the Stanley Cup.
The closest Iginla came to winning the Cup was 2004, when the Flames lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in game seven of the final.
The Kings are battling the St. Louis Blues for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The Kings won the 2012 Stanley Cup as the eighth seed in the west and Iginla believes they can make another run at the Cup.
“With their battle and compete level the playoffs suit them well so yes, absolutely, I think they have a shot to win it,” Iginla said in a conference call that was covered by The Globe and Mail.
Colorado general manager Joe Sakic traded his linemate on the 2002 gold-medal winning Canadian Olympic team out of respect for the person and hockey player.
“He’s a Hall of Fame player. It was a place where he wanted to go and I wanted to afford him that opportunity,” Sakic said of the three-time Olympian and two-time gold medallist with Team Canada.
Iginla recorded eight goals and 18 points in 61 games and was a minus-21 before his Kings’ debut Thursday wearing No. 88 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“It’s been a hard year production-wise but I believe it can get better,” said Iginla, who produced 29 goals and 59 points in 2014/15 and 22 goals and 47 points last season with Colorado.
“My energy doesn’t feel like it’s the issue. I’ve had a couple of real cold stretches so I was battling the puck a little compared to when you’re feeling in the groove but I think those are things that can change. I still look forward to competing and battling in the corners. I think I can still be effective and produce more than I have.”
Iginla ranks 16th all-time in goals with 619 in 1,535 games and 34th all-time in points with 1,291 in a career that included stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins.
The St. Albert Minor Hockey Association graduate of the bantam AAA Sabres and midget AAA Raiders is second among active NHL players in goals behind Jaromir Jagr (761) of the Florida Panthers and is third in points behind Jagr (1,903) and Joe Thornton (1,381) of the San Jose Sharks.
The Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Lorne Akins and Paul Kane alumnus is a two-time Memorial Cup champion with the Kamloops Blazers and Western Hockey League player of the year in 1996.
Iginla was also a gold medallist for Canada with the U18 national team in 1994 and at the 1996 IIHF World Junior Championship, 1997 IIHF World Championship and 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
The 2002 Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL’s top point producer (96 in 82 games) has produced 30 or more goals 12 times, 20 or more goals 17 times and registered at least 50 points in 16 seasons.
The recipient of the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in 2002 (52), and 2004 (co-winner with Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk at 41 apiece) remains Calgary’s all-time franchise leader in goals (525), points (1,095) and games played (1,219).
