Jarome Iginla agreed to a three-year deal just hours after NHL free agency began Tuesday, a step up from the two-year contract he reportedly sought upon hitting the market.
It turns out that Iginla also had a four-year offer on the table.
Newsday’s Arthur Staple reported Tuesday that sources said the New York Islanders made a four-year contract proposal to Iginla. Unfortunately for the Islanders, Iginla chose to sign with the Colorado Avalanche for three years and a reported $16.5 million.
Iginla apparently felt the Avalanche were the better choice despite leaving another year on the table. He got his money, his term, and Colorado should give him another chance to win the Stanley Cup.
“I have a lot of respect for (Avalanche vice president Joe Sakic)”, Iginla said Tuesday, according to the Denver Post. “He’s a winner. So it definitely had a lot to do (with my decision). It’s (also) the team, a great young team, playing against them, watching them, seeing the players they have, the goaltending they have, seeing the direction they’re going, my buddy Alex Tanguay. … I talked to him and (Gabriel) Landeskog a few days ago, and (coach) Patrick Roy, so all that went into it.”
Iginla wasn’t the only big-name free agent the Isles targeted. According to Staple, they also gave veteran defenseman Dan Boyle a three-year offer, but he ended up signing with the New York Rangers for just two years. The Islanders traded a fifth-round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks in June for the negotiating rights to the pending unrestricted free agent.
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