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Could Iginla REALLY Be Moved, and Are the Sabres Interested?

November 4, 2010, 1:54 PM ET [ Comments]
Eklund
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I am not inclined to believe Iginla will be dealt, and if he is to be dealt I do not see it happening until this summer at the earliest...

However, rumors have been circulating for a week or so surrounding Iginla and I have stayed out of them because all my sources were saying the same thing: "No way. Not worth going there."

Fast forward to this morning...I get an early morning call from a source in Alberta who said, "There have been calls on Jarome, it would be completely Iginla's call, but one team which looks to the most active in this is....(I expected to hear the Maple Leafs)...the Buffalo Sabres."

Yesterday Darcy Regier had admitted to making some calls, so I asked if this was why my source thought this.

"No, Darcy has not called Calgary to my knowledge. They are not one of the teams which has called recently. But Jarome is not available now, and the Sabres know this. If he becomes available, the Sabres are a team who has made it known they would like to included."

My source would not tell me the names, or even the divisions, of the teams who have called recently. He did say they teams were "back East." I can speculate, based on my talks with teams over the years, the Senators, Leafs, Rangers, Devils, and Bruins would be first in line.

He would not comment, but would deny any of those names. My source said he doubted the Flames would move him to a Western Conference team, but for sure the Blues, Kings, Ducks, and Red Wings, Wild and Avalanche would be able to get into the game.

But my source emphasized, "The Sabres would be VERY in on this one."

I know Sabres fans will be doubtful. These fans have seen the team not buck up big money in the past to keep its stars. In my talks with the Sabres, I feel confident that if they believed they could get a superstar in Iginla's class they would spend. The Sabres have always been about "not paying superstar money to players who are stars, but not Superstars."

You can debate who was a star, who was a superstar, all day...but the Sabres themselves do not feel they have lost any "superstars" via free agency. I would venture the only superstar they believe they have had is Ryan Miller. Myers may be a superstar, his struggles this year are just typical of sophomore defensemen.

To be clear, so I am not misinterpreted here...I believe two truths when it comes to Jarome Iginla and trade rumors.

#1. It won't happen until the summer, IF AT ALL.
#2. It will be Iginla's call and where this once was viewed as an impossibility, this past summer people close to the situation didn't say Iginla would accept a trade, but also wouldn't say he wouldn't consider a trade. And the latter was a very notable change.

The asking price for Iginla?

My source noted the price would be "higher than any we have seen in quite some time. It would require multiple great draft picks/prospects, a top six forward, and a top 3 defenseman."

More to come tonight...prior to heading to the Wells Fargo Center for Rangers/Flyers.
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