Since no one on this site wants to pay tribute to one of the greatest players in NHL history for getting his 500th goal, I will.
Jarome Iginla came to the Flames in the Joe Nieuwendyk trade with Dallas in 1995, and he has been the primary pillar, that has held the Flames franchise up ever since. Honesty, leadership, hard working, fearless, skilled, heart, toughness, humble, class act, and winner are all words I would use to describe Calgary's Captain. Iginla, in my opinion is the greatest hockey player to ever put on a Flames jersey and I would take him on the Canucks anytime. The guy is a class act both on and off the ice and carries himself the way all hockey players should. Iggy is always the first Flame to step up and help in the community whenever it is needed.
While I am still a tab bitter about watching him end our cup dreams in 04, the fact is he was the best player in that series, and the Flames wanted it more. I have more respect for Iginla than any other player in the NHL (non-Canuck).My Favourite Iginla moments are
- 1996 him dominating the world jr tournament and leading Canada to gold.
- His fight against Lecavalier in the finals.
- Watching him score countless goals, streaking down the wing and firing the puck home.
- Him setting up Crosby for the winner at the 2010 Olympics.
- His 2 goals in the gold medal game in 2002.
- Him keeping the entire Flames team on the ice in 2008 to say goodbye to Trevor Linden
- Him always being there to stick up for his teammates.
- His leadership in the 2004 Cup run.
- The countless pictures and videos I have seen of him making a difference, helping out various charities.
- The stories I have heard from everyone who has met him. No one has a bad thing to say about the guy.
Here are a few videos to pay tribute to the man. If the rumours of the Canucks being interested in him are true, I hope Gillis gets the deal done.
Canucks/Panthers
The Canucks come into this game after their biggest win of the year. In case you haven't heard already, Vancouver exercised their demons and defeated the Bruins in Boston, in what will likely be the game of the year in the NHL. The Canucks continue to clip along at a .700 pace and are 1 point back of the Rangers for top spot in the league. The Panthers have hit a bit of a speed bump after starting of fast, but are still 3 points up on uhh… Winnipeg? in the Southwest Division.
Canucks 26-13-3 55pts
Panthers 20-13-8-48pts
Leaders
Canucks
Goals D. Sedin 18
Assists H. Sedin 38
+/- Burrows +19
Hits Lapierre 119
Looking at this game, I would say the two most exciting things about it will be seeing Sammy suit up against his old team and try and prove something, and Roberto Luongo returning to Florida. I think you will see both have big games tonight, as both are extremely proud athletes with something to prove. Sammy will want to show the Canucks they made a mistake by dealing him (we all saw tear he went on after he was left off the Olympic team). Luongo on the other hand has always been greeted in Florida with mixed response for not re-signing there, so the jeers should get him ready to go.
How Florida is staying competitive this year, I'm not sure, but they seem to play with decent special teams and keep the game close enough to get a point out of them. I expect that to be the case tonight and think we will see a 3-2 type game. Vancouver's motto is, "to never get too high and too low", but I can see this as a bit of a letdown game that they take a while to get into. That is the main reason I think it will be a close, fairly uneventful game tonight.
I can see Vancouver falling behind early in this one because of a slow start, but Lu being good enough to keep them in it. I see it being a 2-1 Panthers game heading into the third and a big third period winning it for us. This team has shown an amazing ability to play with the fire they need to in the third and I expect nothing less from them tonight.
Prediction- 3-2 Canucks, with Sammy getting a goal for the Panthers and Lu have 35+saves
Respect Your Rival- Florida Panthers
Kris Versteeg
Versteeg is another guy that I hated when he was a Hawk because he always burned the Canucks, but I would take on my team any day. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Ryan Kesler with his cocky, pesky swagger, but he is still one hell of a player. He is a surprise 20th in the NHL in points and I wouldn't be surprised to see him up for the Selke at season's end. He's a great little player and a great competitor.
Dmitry Kulikov
I've loved the way this kid has played since Jr, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him win a Norris one day. He's such a smart, skilled player who always makes good passes and plays well in his own end. There was a rumour out there that he was on the block and I don't buy it. He's the type of D-man you build around and I think Tallon is smart enough to see that. I you happen to watch the game keep and eye on #7 tonight.
Tomas Fleischmann
Any time a player almost dies, it always makes a good story when they come back. Fleischmann was diagnosed with a pulmonary emboli (a blockage of the main artery going to the lung) last season and has returned to score at almost a point a game pace. While last week I wrote that Mason and Max should split the award, Fleischman wouldn't be a bad choice either. Fleischmann is a very skilled game breaker who the Canucks will have to watch closely tonight.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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