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I'll be honest here.
In the early part of the NHL season, I have failed to appreciate just how cool it is that Jarome Iginla is a member of the Boston Bruins.
For the past 15 years or so, I've routinely been in awe of what this guy has been able to accomplish. Since he broke onto the scene in the late 90s, all Iggy has done is produce at a disgustingly high level. Check his career stats - they're nuts. From 2000-01 to 2011-12 as a member of and captain of the Calgary Flames, he never dipped under 30 goals, reaching 50 twice and registering 43 as late as 2011. During their run to the Cup Final in 2004, he scored 13 goals in 26 games, which would be oh just another 40 goal pace over the course of a regular season.
And in Calgary, he did all that while his best centre was Craig Conroy. And no disrespect to Craig Conroy, but come on, Craig Conroy?
[Side note: As a Canadian hockey fan, it was also a treat to watch him play on two Olympic Gold Medal winning teams (2004, 2010).]
All this to say, Jarome Iginla is now a member of the Boston Bruins, and that's pretty damn awesome. And yes, I'm purposely ignoring what happened last year with the failed deal to bring him here earlier because who cares?
For all the talk of his "slow start", he's fitting in quite well thank you very much, scoring three goals and six assists in twelve games. He's also still straight sniping, as evidenced in last night's shootout win over the Ducks:
Look, maybe part of the reason his presence on the team hasn't resonated as deeply as it should - for me anyway - is the fact that he's 36 and quite clearly on the downswing of his career. He's not likely to put up his all too familiar numbers, and he's looking to be one cog in the wheel of a Cup winning team, not the driving force itself.
And that's fine.
But as the line of Iginla - Krejci - Lucic gets more comfortable together, and as he starts to net a few more goal in the black and gold, it'll start to sink in more and more that the Bruins have a future Hall of Fame level player on the roster, and that's not something to be taken for granted.