Iginla believes that this could be his year

Photo via thehockeyguys.net

     Jarome Iginla will be a Hall of Famer, without question. Throughout his 17-year career in the National Hockey League, Iginla has accomplished so much, scoring more than 500 goals, and picking up a pair Gold Medals along the way.

     Despite his iconic career, and outstanding post-season numbers (32 goals, 29 assists in 69 playoff games), Jarome Iginla's legacy is lacking one key part, the final piece to the jigsaw puzzle: the chance to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.

     Now, after a full season in black and gold, Iginla believes that this could finally be the year.

“We want to win it as a group,” he said, following practice on Thursday. “The guys who’ve won it before are very hungry. … It’s been fun to watch as a new guy coming here how motivated everyone is.” “It’s a new start, (the playoffs) are always exciting because there’s possibilities, it could be this year. This is as good a chance as I believe I’ve had.”

     Even if the 37-year-old can win a Cup, he knows it isn't time to hang up the skates quite yet.

“I try not to look at it that way,” he said. “I hope we win this year, but I still want to play next year regardless.”

     Claude Julien, being a proud head coach, would love to win a cup for Iginla (and to add to his own collection, obviously), but he knows that the only way to do that is to focus on each and every game.

“We all remember Ray Bourque here, and when he went to Colorado, they really wanted to win it,” Julien said. “But you know, in order to do that for him, you really got to focus on your game. Focus on what you need to do there. At the end, you hope that that’s what it takes to get him a Cup, but I don’t want our team just to focus on (Iginla) because I don’t think our focus is going to be the right place.”

     Iginla has been a huge part of the Bruins work this season, scoring 30 goals, and tallying 31 assists in 8 games, with a +34 (tied for 4th in the league with Anze Kopitar, behind only Krejci, Bergeron, and Marchand). With the Bruins first playoff game against Detroit on Thursday, Iginla will be playing a big role i trying to earn himself, as well as his teammates a Stanley Cup.

   

Photo via skysports.com

source:
Goss, Nicholas. "Jarome Iginla Believes This Is His Best Chance To Win Stanley Cup." NESNcom. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
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