Iginla to the Igloo

As of this morning, Jarome Iginla has a new address, as the Calgary Flames have traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins.  In exchange, the Flames will get the rights to Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski, as well as the Penguins' first round pick in 2013.  The cynic in me is asking, "Who did Calgary really get?"  If you're in the know about the Penguins' top prospects, then you know that neither player was even in the top ten prospects on the team according to the Hockey News Future Watch issue, and given that the Flames could have asked for any among the likes of Olli Maatta, Derrick Pouliot, Scott Harrington or Brian Dumolin, this immediately looks like the Flames got the short end of the stick once again.

To fill in the blanks on what the Flames could be getting, Hanowski was a third round pick of the Penguins in 2009 and is currently a senior with St. Cloud State.  Agostino was a fifth round pick of the Penguins in 2010 and is currently a junior with Yale University.  As for that first round pick the Flames are getting, that will bear watching, as the Flames have mostly whiffed on the first round pick since 1989.  As for the Penguins, they get a player whose best days are likely behind him, but you never know what putting him on a line with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin will do.  Even if he gets put on a line with third center Brandon Sutter, Iginla has already won, as Sutter is no slouch when it comes to being a good two-way forward.  This is Iginla's best chance to win a Stanley Cup since 2004, and certainly, the Penguins want it all this year, having already traded for Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray, adding grit to go with an already talented offense.

On the surface, this looks like Christian Ehrhoff: version 2.0.  If you remember your history, prior to the 2009-10 season, the Vancouver Canucks traded for Ehrhoff and sent to the Sharks their 2007 first round pick Patrick White and another player.  Ehrhoff put up his best numbers in a Canucks uniform and was an integral part of the team's 2011 Finals run.  Meanwhile, White never suited up for the Sharks or their affiliates, as he went to Europe after finishing his college career.