The Fifth Liners

Last night after suffering a 6-0 to the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum, it appears that the Colorado Avalanche 's season is already turning into the thing of nightmares. There were signs of life last season as Patrick Roy 's Jack Adams winning debut season propelled them to new heights not seen since the days of Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Roy himself keeping net. Currently the Avalanche lies stranded in 13th place in the Western Conference with a record of 3–5–5 and the problem seems to be that no one really understands what is causing this slide? Calder Trophy Winner Nathan MacKinnon 's slow sophomore season has been making headlines for the wrong reasons but currently he is still joint top offensively with Matt Duchene on 9 points. But Jarome Iginla has so far received the most flack as his age has appeared to have crept up with him. 2 goals and 8 points are not reflecting the $16 million that Colorado were willing to invest in the 37 year old! The p...

The trade rumour mill has been grinding vigorously of late and one name that has been at the centre is that of Carolina Hurricanes captain, Eric Staal .  Word has been that Staal would be happy to waive his no trade cause and join the Toronto Maple Leafs instead. At 30 years old and with only one year left on his contract, this would certainly help lift $8 million off the Hurricanes salary cap. But the real question is, what would be the long term effect of letting one of their stars leave? Ever since their remarkable run to the 2006 Stanley Cup win, the Hurricanes have struggled to be any where near competitive and Raleigh, North Carolina is unlikely to see another cup banner raised any time soon. Eric Staal since being a second overall pick in 2003 has been a solid player for them over the years. His 690 points from just 770 NHL games reads very well, but his plus/minus figures have been consistently dropping recently. Last season amidst a lengthy knee injury, Sta...

Ever since long time star, Jarome Iginla packed his bags and said goodbye to the circus, fans of the Calgary Flames have endured a bleak season in Alberta. Last season was truly one to forget because aside from surprising yet massively amusing line brawl that broke out against Vancouver, they finished only 6th in the Pacific Division with a depressingly low goal total of 209 and a whopping 241 goals against! Along with the retirement of hero goalie Miikka Kiprusoff , the atmosphere at the Canadian Tire Centre had turned barren and many experts wrote the Flames off as a lost cause. But in this off season, a few key acquisitions have paved the way for a possibly brighter 2014-15 season. The first step was drafting young star centre Sam Bennett fourth overall at the 2014 Draft. Touted by many as 1st overall pick, Bennett surprisingly was passed over by Florida in favour of defense-man Aaron Ekblad . Although he may have been disappointed at being denied this distinction, the Flames h...

The season is over, the playoffs are over, the draft is over, it's a sad day when there's no more Hockey. Life goes on, jobs, kids, and long suffering spouses all take center stage again. Alex is still rocking around Toronto and has, for inexplicable reasons, embraced baseball. We still have two months to wait until the return of the football season. The hockey season is even further away, over three months. Damn, July 1st brought not only Canada Day for our friends up north, but also Free Agency Day; the NHL equivalent of Black Friday. It's usually a belter. It's the day when GMs tasked with rebuilding their teams are able to snap up all of the superstars whose contracts came to an end at midday. Here's some of the most notable moves: Ryan Miller - Vancouver Canucks I'd imagine it's tough being a Canucks fan, the pressure to bag that elusive first Stanley Cup has seen lots of changes in BC recently. Starting at the back is never a bad idea and b...

"Everyone in Hockey is asking just what went wrong with Boston's season? What exactly was the factor that made their series go wrong, was it poor planning or were Montreal just too much for them?" Good Question, let's have a look. The Boston Bruins always looked good to advance through the playoffs, especially after being drawn against Detroit in the first round. Wracked with injury and inexperience, the depleted  Detroit Red Wings did well to get a playoff spot and certainly poured heart and soul into the series, but ultimately the Bruins were always going to win. There's two main reasons why things fell apart against the Montreal Canadiens , the first is that the series wasn't managed properly. On the ice the Bruins showed a complacency up front. During the regular season Boston scored 3.15 goals per game, in the playoffs this fell to 2.5. Like in the regular season, Jarome Iginla has been most prolific, having netted five times, while  David Krejci...

Boston have been playing well of late, quietly getting on with job. The result of which is a spot at the top of the Eastern Conference. Detroit's troubles this season have been well documented and last night the team had to go without superstar Pavel Datsyuk and dependable first-liner Todd Bertuzzi. On paper, this looked like another win for Boston. The first ten minutes were close, the Bruins looked dangerous when pushing and the Red Wings broke well, recently returned Darren Helm almost opened the scoring with a lightning fast breakaway, only to put the puck wide. Detroit's Johan Franzen then stepped up. The Mule set up the first and only goal of a penalty packed first period when his cross through the blue paint found Justin Abdelkader who tapped in the opener. This came straight after he stepped out of the penalty box after picking up a penalty for high-sticking on Zdeno Mt. Chara. Must have been a really high stick. The second period brought more goals for boys in ...

... a secret. In slightly bizarre news from the Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary Flames coach Bob Hartley has been talking about there was really only one choice when it came to replacing Jarome Iginla . He won't say who that choice is though. Click here for the full non-story . I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. It's definitely a strange news week.

Alex's question this week focused on what the Calgary Flames can do to have a productive 13/14 season. In perhaps fortunate coincidence, Bleacher Report recently named Flames' GM Jay Feaster as the NHL's worst GM . You can't swing a virtual cat on the internet without finding hatred for Feaster. His questionable trades have left a lot of fans scratching their heads. The Flames' trade policy has been about bringing in young players who haven't peaked yet. Except when old players become available, that policy goes out the window. This inconsistency in the boardroom will be reflected on the ice. The loss of Jarome Iginla left a huge gap in the Flames' roster and the club is still yet to announce its captain. Mike Cammalleri has his eye on the C but with after finishing on -15 last season, is he the best candidate? So what next? How do the Flames rebuild? Here's a few pointers: Appoint a new captain. The Flames have just resigned TJ Brodie to ...

The Boston Bruins re-shaping has just been given a big shot in the arm after it was announced that 35 year star winger Jarome Iginla has joined the team. Iginla has reportedly signed a 1 year contract with the Bruins as he seeks his first Stanley Cup win in his 16 year playing career. After many winless years at the Calgary Flames , Iginla decided to spread his wins last season and was courted by many big name clubs before finally decided to move to the Pittsburgh Penguins which at the time was seen by many as a good decision as the Pens possessed the leagues best offense. But after being swept in the Eastern Conference final, Iginla has once again decided to move on to a newer challenge and the Bruins are certainly getting a man who has a burning desire to add silverware of his impressive NHL record which currently stands at 530 goal in 1,232 games. Upon signing for the organisation, Iginla said "My family and I are very, very excited to be joining the Bruins organization...

1. Jarome Iginla  After a decade as captain of the Calgary Flames, Jarome Iginla this year made the decision to pack his bags and leave the Saddledome with his team at the bottom of the Western Conference standings to join championship chasing Pittsburgh Penguins who acquired him in exchange for one their first round draft picks in this years draft! But after a good start scoring 11 points in 13 regular season games- the Penguins were swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference final with Iginla failing to step up when needed and this leaves his Pittsburgh future in doubt. At 35 Iginla still has some miles left in him and no doubt there will be a stampede of offers for him because each franchise needs a frequent goal scorer like him (take note of this Tortorella) 2. Nathan Horton  This man has been at the helm of the Boston Bruins recent success since his arrival from Florida in 2011, but recently Horton has run into trouble with Bruins management over an ar...

The Pittsburgh Penguins have successfully seen off the Ottawa Senators to advance to the Eastern Conference final. Game three saw the only dip in the Pen's performance when Ottawa thoroughly outplayed Pittsburgh to take their first win of the series but Dan Bylsma was able to inspire his team to take two convincing wins. The first was on Wednesday when the Penguins came out of the game with the win after James Neal , Chris Kunitz, Jarome Iginla, Pascal Dupuis and Sidney Crosby all found the net. Milan Michalek , Kyle Turris and Daniel Alfredsson netted for the Senators but it was wasn't enough. The Pens finished the game winning 7-3. Last night the action shifted back to the Consul Energy Center for game five. Pittsburgh controlled the game with Brendan Morrow 's controversial goal opening the game. James Neal and Kris Letang then put the game at 3-0. Milan Michalek was on hand to grab a goal for the Sens but Evgeni Malkin and James Neal responded with ...

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to march forward, and there's no Morgan Freeman in sight. The Pens beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 at the TD Garden. The victory means that Pittsburgh clinch the top spot in the Eastern Conference and take the number one seed. If things stay the way they are, the Pens will meet the New York Rangers in the first series of the playoffs. For the full story, including Jarome Iginla 's reaction to being booed whenever he had the puck,  click here.

The Pittsburgh Penguins ' injury woes continue, according the  Trib's sport page . James Neal is out indefinitely after his head to elbow interface with New York Rangers' Michael Del Zotto left him with concussion. This is in addition to Sidney Crosby who is still out with a broken jaw.  To shore up the main line, Evgeni Malkin and Jussi Jokinen have traded places, with the Finn taking the center position on the 2nd line. Malkin will partner Chris Kunitz and the Pens' other big trade Jarome Iginla up front.  The positive news is that both Crosby and Neal are doing well, but it is not currently known if either player will be back in time for the playoffs. 

It's official, Jarome Iginla is now a Penguin. The deal sees the Flames pick up the Pens' first round draft pick and the rights to unsigned draftees Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski. Early reports that Iginla was headed to the Bruins have since been confirmed as 'not true'. The theory that he would sign for the Red Wings was just wishful thinking by me.  Click  here  for more about the story on NHL.com.

Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla has submitted his wish list of teams he'd happily transfer to according to  Renaud Lavoie . It's no secret that Iginla has been in talks for a a while about moving away from the Flames and there has been speculation aplenty about where he would go. Sadly the Red Wings didn't make the list. The teams are: Boston Bruins , Chicago Blackhawks , LA Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins . Question now is do any of the above teams want Iginla? Sourced from  here.