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Here’s one for your Tuesday afternoon, waaaaaaaaaay out of left field:
4 months after hip surgery, Jarome Iginla on ice with @AHLBruins today. Iginla: 'I’d love to still play. This is kind of the 1st step, getting out here & seeing how it is... I wanted to see if I can still go. I don’t have any deals at this point' pic.twitter.com/LiWaOQfTzG
— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) February 20, 2018
Why yes, that is NHL legend and former Boston Bruin Jarome Iginla skating in a Providence Bruins jersey today.
As Divver notes, it doesn’t mean he has been signed by the P-Bruins or anything like that. Iginla reportedly bought property in the Boston area fairly recently, so there’s a pretty good chance that he was looking for a pro workout and the P-Bruins were the closest thing available.
Iginla supposedly hasn’t closed the door on an NHL return yet, and the Bruins could be interested in a depth forward...but in all likelihood, this is just a weird quirk, a scheduling convenience for a guy looking for ice and a team with ice to give.
Would you give Iginla a shot on a PTO?
EDIT (12:50 PM): To add some context:
Boston Bruins gave Iginla their blessing to skate in Providence although there are no strings attached otherwise. Iginla simply trying to find out where he is physically before he decides the next step if any... https://t.co/2Wdm2HwMIs
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 20, 2018
LT. Not to rain on the (Cup) parade, but Bruins source says this is more along lines of a favor to an ex-Bruin (who lives in Boston) than an indication of #NHLBruins interest
— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) February 20, 2018
There you have it, from two guys who are IN THE KNOW™.
Does this mean Iginla is signing with the Bruins?
No, it does not.
As Divver noted above, there’s no deal, no agreement, etc. Iginla skating with the team isn’t really much different from you or I skating with the team, except you and I aren’t Hall of Famers.
However, a reader reached out to me and reported that Iginla has been skating regularly at a rink out in Brighton, which is fairly close to the home he purchased in Brookline.
This reader also reports that NHL scouts have dropped in on Iginla’s skating and workouts. These drop-ins could be professional courtesies, or they could be friends catching up, or they could be teams checking on how much the former Flame has left in the tank.
This reader indicated that, among others, scouts from Tampa, Anaheim and the Bruins have dropped in at one point or another, but we haven’t been able to confirm those specifics.
If nothing else, an interesting wrinkle: a former Bruin weighing a comeback, skating in the Bruins’ backyard. It remains unlikely that Iginla puts the spoked-B back on, but it would certainly be a compelling story.