The NHL trade deadline is coming.  It’s time for the annual, “Wouldn’t Jarome Iginla look good in a Bruins uniform?” discussions.  Whenever Calgary starts slipping the conversation inevitably begins.  He should ask for a trade for the good of the team.  The team needs to trade their best player ever for the good of the franchise.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.  Eventually the topic always turns to how Boston should go out and get him.

A few years ago I was fully in the do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-this-guy camp.  Now… he’s getting old.  He’s 35, which is very old for most hockey players.  He’s not going to come into Boston and light the lamp 50 times in the final month of the season.  He’s not going to show up and solve all of our offensive problems.  He’s probably not even going to be one of our top scorers.  Should we still pay the unquestionably high price to get him?

HELL YES!

When the Bruins traded for Marc Recchi a few years ago, I was insulted.  Recchi was ancient by hockey standards, and his best years were so far behind him it was sick.  Then he got here and became “The Veteran”.  He set himself up as the elder statesman.  All of the young players looked up to him.  All of them saw him as a role model.  All of them saw his Stanley Cup rings and bought in.  What happened?  Well, just a Stanley Cup a couple of years later.  That’s all.

Iginla is better now than Recchi was then.  He’s never won a championship, but most of the current roster has, so we don’t need that sort of leadership like we did when Recchi got here.  What we do have is a bunch of forwards who go through streaks where they struggle to score goals.  Iginla can assume the role of “The Veteran” and smoothe out all of those scary times when Lucic and Horton and Marchant and Seguin all suddenly forget how to score.  Look at me, he can say, I’m Jarome Iginla and I have twice hit the 50 goals in a season mark.  Learn from me as I demonstrate the wonders of hard work and consistency.

On top of that, throughout his career Iginla has been an A list power forward.  He is what Milan Lucic needs to be.  Wants to be.  Must be.  Trading for Iginla would be worth it just so he could teach Looch what he needs to learn.

People are already complaining about the possibility of the Bruins giving up Malcolm Subban.  Subban is 19, playing in juniors, and a very late first round pick.  In other words, he hasn’t done anything real yet (no offense) and he won’t be ready to contribute at the NHL level for a while.  I hear people saying three years but that seems super optimistic to me.  I say deal him to Calgary and then work your black and gold asses off to sign Iginla for a few more years.

I ask you, wouldn’t Jarome Iginla look good in a Boston Bruins uniform?

I answer you.  Yes, yes he would.

Go get him!