Kings acquire Jarome Iginla from Avalanche
Jarome Iginla now has a chance to nab his first Stanley Cup -- how big a chance remains to be seen. The Los Angeles Kings acquired the 39-year-old forward from the Colorado Avalanche for a 2018 conditional fourth-round draft choice on Wednesday.
Though the Kings are currently one point out of the final wild-card spot in the West, the Avs had the worst record in the league. Los Angeles picked up goalie Ben Bishop from the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this week.
"They play hard, they have a knack for -- once they get down into the nitty gritty, the big games, they find ways to be successful and hard to play against," Iginla said of the Kings. "I hope to contribute to that."
Iginla, who has a $5.33 million cap hit and is a pending unrestricted free agent, had publicly stated his desire to join a playoff team. He hasn't won a Stanley Cup in his 20 seasons, getting to the finals only once, with the Calgary Flames in 2003-04. Calgary lost that one in seven games to the Lightning.
"We felt it was the right thing to do for him," Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said of the trade. "It's a respect thing, for him as a person and as a hockey player."
The Avalanche will retain 50 percent of Iginla's remaining salary, sources told ESPN.
The Edmonton, Alberta, native has tallied eight goals and 10 assists in 61 games for the Avalanche. He has 619 career goals and is a six-time All-Star.
According to ESPN Stats & Information,Iginla is the seventh player among the 19 who have reached 600 NHL goals to be traded after reaching the milestone. The other six are Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr, Marcel Dionne, Mike Gartner, Mark Messier and Bobby Hull.
In a separate deal to free cap space, the Kings sent forward Dwight King to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Los Angeles will receive a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft. A source told ESPN that the Kings will not retain any salary in the deal.
King, 27, is a pending unrestricted free agent who is making $1.95 million this season.
He has eight goals and seven assists in 63 games this season, his seventh with Los Angeles -- the only team he has played for.
Information from ESPN's Craig Custance, Pierre LeBrun and Joe McDonald contributed to this report.
