Entering his age 40 season in 2017-18, Iginla is coming off a career-low 27 points last season. Things went extremely poorly in his first 61 games with a lackluster Colorado club, notching just 18 points and a minus-21 rating with the Avalanche. However, he displayed some promise after he was sent to the City of Angels prior to the trade deadline, notching nine points (six goals, three assists) over just 19 games with the Kings. Considering his history of production, it’s pretty safe to expect that Iginla -- even at his age -- will experience a slight increase from last season’s output if he lands with a competitive squad.
In his second season with the Avalanche, Iginla failed to hit 50 points for just the fourth time in his extensive 19-year career despite skating in all 82 contests (he’s done that 11 times). The veteran potted 22 goals and 25 assists, but finished with a minus-22 rating, easily the worst he’s ever put up. Additionally, the winger’s shooting percentage declined heavily from last year – 15.3 to 12.1 – with just seven fewer shots. While it may seem the 39-year-old isn't aging gracefully, Iginla did manage 13 tallies and six helpers on the power play, which makes him usable in fantasy. Just don’t expect the veteran to return to his 80-point days, especially with Nathan MacKinnon and Blake Comeau earning more opportunities at the forward position.
He may be 38 years old, but Iginla is still one of the best goal scorers around. The veteran had an outstanding 2014-15 campaign, leading all Avalanche players with 29 goals, which ranked 16th in the NHL. He was particularly lethal on the power-play, striking eight times -- the most man-advantage markers he’s provided since when he was with Calgary in 2011-12. Iginla has bounced around three teams in just the last three years, but the frequent changes of scenery have done little to hinder his productivity. In fact, aside from a significant drop in his plus/minus rating, which was more reflective of the decline in his team context, Iginla posted quite comparable outputs with the Avs last season to what he provided with Boston (30 goals, 31 assists) the year prior. It’s unclear where Iginla will line up for the Avs in 2015-16 after the team bid adieu to Ryan O'Reilly, but the winger has proven that he can produce offense no matter where he slots in. Though his 90-point days are almost certainly over, Iginla is still capable of chipping in with 30 goals and 60 points until he shows otherwise. Drafting Iginla might not necessarily be the bold move fantasy owners often like to make, but he's safe choice for those looking to mitigate risk with their middle-round picks.
After posting a lackluster 14 goals and a disastrous playoff with Pittsburgh in the lockout-shortened season, the 37-year-old Iginla proved doubters wrong in 2013-14, providing the 12th 30-goal campaign of his career as part of a 61-point, plus-34 showing with the Bruins. Iginla parlayed this success into a shiny new three-year, $16 million deal with the Avalanche in the offseason. Though he is leaving what many would consider an enviable situation in Boston beside Milan Lucic and all-world playmaker David Krejci, Iggy enters a very talented forward group in Colorado, where he should slide in nicely beside one of the team's star centers. The winger will also reunite with his old pal Alex Tanguay, a former Flames teammate, who spent the better part of five successful seasons alongside Iginla in Cow Town. Everything considered, expect Iginla to fire a ton of shots on goal, crack at least 50 points and provide a big-body presence in Colorado's top-six and on the power play, while bringing his usual leadership and competitive fire to the Avs. But just remember -- he is a well-known slow starter, so don't panic at season's start. He'll heat up.
Iginla, who spurned the Bruins’ efforts to acquire him last March, is finally set to wear a Boston sweater after signing a free agent deal to help fill the vacant spot left when Nathan Horton left for Columbus. Iginla, who notched 14 goals and 33 points in 44 games last season, will likely slot into the Bruins’ top line alongside Milan Lucic and David Krejci. He may have slowed down a tad, but with linemates of that caliber Iginla, a respected teammate and leader, figures to experience a renaissance with the Bruins. Don’t be surprised if the 36-year-old hits the 30-goal mark with his new team.
Iginla was one of the more frustrating fantasy players in 2011-12, as his usual slow start lasted longer than usual. In the first 23 games of the season, he managed only 12 points and a minus-7 rating during that span. He did turn it around, however, and ended up with 32 goals and 35 assists to end the season, scoring nearly a point a game after the first two months. He also became only the seventh player in NHL history to score at least 30 goals in 11 straight seasons. That being said, the campaign was his worst since 1999-2000, and may signal that the winger’s skills are finally diminishing a bit. He still should accumulate 60-70 points and around 25-30 goals, but he’s not a first-rounder like he was at one point.
Iginla recorded 86 points (43 G, 43 A) last season, 17 more than he had strung together in 2009-10. Easily the best forward on the team, Iginla is an offensive force who provides veteran leadership and competence in all three zones. Naturally, Iginla draws the toughest defensive pairings opponents have on board, but that hasn't stopped him from averaging close to a point-per-game in his 14-year career. The captain's plus/minus rating will be a barometer on how the Flames are doing next season. If he can improve on his “Even Steven” rating from last year, then look for Calgary to sneak into the playoff picture. Fantasy owners will definitely want to be along for the ride.
Iginla is coming off of his worst season since 2005-06, and probably his most disappointing season altogether, given what was at stake for the Flames. He ended up with a team-high 69 points (32 G, 37 A), with 10 of his goals coming with the man advantage. How much of Iginla's decline is on him, and how much can be blamed on his teammates? The Flames were last in the NHL in goals scored with 204, and traded his most frequent center (Olli Jokinen) just before the trade deadline. Only one other teammate had more than 15 goals or more than 30 assists - Rene Bourque. Iginla shot at a reasonable if not great 12.5%, so it seems like most of his problems stemmed from not having much talent around him. Therein lies the rub - the team did very little in the offseason to raise the hope that he'd get more help. They're getting the band back together by signing both Jokinen and Alex Tanguay - the latter's signing might help more than the former's. Daymond Langkow's neck injury hasn't improved, and in fact was the inspiration for re-signing Jokinen as the "best available center" out on the free-agent market that the Flames could afford. Iginla went through some withering goal droughts last season, and chances are there could be more of the same in 2010-11.
The only consistent offensive threat the Flames have had in the last five years, Iginla put up another 89 points in 2008-09, including 35 goals. That total was down from his career 2007-08 campaign in which he potted 50 goals and 98 points, but it's hard to nit-pick Iginla's game too much. He ended up with a minus-2 and had a prolonged slump during last season, but he's a guaranteed 80-100 points and 35+ goals if he stays healthy, especially now that he's had an offseason to jell with possible linemate Olli Jokinen.
Iginla once again proved he is a top-tier scorer in the NHL last season, scoring 50 goals and 48 assists and was named as a finalist for the Hart Trophy. The 98 points were a career high, and he also tied a career high with a plus-27. Needless to say, Iginla will go in the top five of most fantasy drafts, as he shows no signs of slowing. For those leagues that count penalty minutes, Iginla also picked up 83 of those last season.
Following a "disappointing" season in 2005-06, Iginla once again proved his worth last season. Even after missing 12 games with injury, Iggy still scored 39 goals and 55 assists (a personal high), and showed that he is a top-flight fantasy player. Being paired with Alex Tanguay certainly helped, and Iginla really found his form when former teammate Craig Conroy joined the club (and Iginla's line) for the last 28 games of the season. He showed no signs of injury in the last quarter of the season and should have no trouble hitting the 90-point mark once again, especially with a full season of Conroy and Tanguay as his linemates.
Although some consider Iginla's 2005-06 campaign a slight letdown, the winger still scored 67 points with 31 of those on the power play. He remains the focal point of the Calgary offense and is largely responsible for the inflated numbers of linemates Daymond Langkow and Kristian Huselius. Iggy may have started slow, but he finished his season with a bang, scoring 18 points in his last 19 games. With Alex Tanguay now on the Flames' first line, there could be a Joe Thornton/Jonathan Cheechoo 1-2 punch north of the border. Iginla's numbers could make him slip a little bit on some draft boards this season, so you could steal him a little later than last year.
There was no doubt the first order of business once the lockout was finished was to sign their franchise player. Tony Amonte and Darren McCarty had informed management that they would only sign if Iginla was coming back. Jerome has led the Flames in scoring four straight years, the NHL two of the last three years and he also led the NHL with 13 goals in the 2003/04 Playoffs. He does it all which is rare in the NHL; he plays the power play, shorthanded, he is very responsible defensively and is not afraid to be physical and to mix it up. Year in year out he is guaranteed to produce and will be picked in the first round of all fantasy pools.