UPDATE 3/28, 9:45 a.m. ET: TSN’s Aaron Ward, who was the first to report that Iginla was traded to the Bruins, apologized via Twitter, claiming he “had multiple sources confirm a trade that did not happen.”
BOSTON — A Bruins fan stood in front of the TD Garden sign outside the club’s home rink on Wednesday night wearing a Calgary Flames jersey with the No. 12 and name “Iginla” on the back. He also held a sign up that simply read “Free Iggy.”
That fan apparently got his wish a few hours later.
According to TSN reporter and former NHL defenseman Aaron Ward, the Bruins bolstered their lineup by adding six-time All-Star Jarome Iginla in a trade with the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.
It’s still not official what the Bruins will have to give up, but there seems to be a growing consensus. According to reports, the B’s will send defenseman Matt Bartkowski, forward prospect Alex Khokhlachev and a conditional first-round pick to the Flames. According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the draft pick is conditional on whether or not Iginla re-signs with Boston. He’s set to become a free agent after the season. McKenzie did stress that the return package is not yet official, but he wasn’t the only one to say that would be the return for Iginla.
In return, the B’s get a gritty, battle-tested forward hoping to finally get a chance to raise the Stanley Cup. Oh, and he can put the puck in the net. Iginla’s 525 goals are third among active players. While he’s no longer that player, he does have nine goals and 13 assists this season in 31 games.
Speculation ran wild on Twitter and the like Wednesday night and into Thursday morning in Boston about a potential deal. That all really gained steam when Iginla was pulled from the lineup for the Flames’ game against the Colorado Avalanche. It was the first game the forward had missed since the 2006-07 season.
