The big NHL news
Thursday night was the trade that sent longtime Flames captain Jarome
Iginla to the Penguins (not the Bruins), already winners of 13 straight
and comfortable leaders atop the Eastern Conference standings. And the
Pens got the career 525-goal scorer without giving up any current
contributors or top prospects, sending only two mid-level prospects and a
2013 first-round pick to Calgary in the deal.
And
that came on top of two trades earlier in the week that brought longtime
Stars forward Brendan Morrow and Sharks defenseman Doug Murray to
Pittsburgh for another run at a Cup.
The deal has
been pretty thoroughly skewered as a lopsided one in the national media — keep in mind that Iginla had a no-trade clause and was able to choose
his destination, which of course limited the Flames' potential return — but what do NHL players think of it?
If there's a
go-to source for unfiltered opinions (on anything), it's Coyotes forward
Paul Bissonnette, whose Twitter breakdown of the deal includes some
straightforward, everyone-can-relate praise for Penguins general manager
Ray Shero.
So in hockey terms, the
Penguins' two prospects and first-round pick represent an apple, and
Iginla represents ... um ... quite a
haul.
