Jarome Iginla Traded to Kings for Draft Pick

The Los Angeles Kings acquired veteran winger Jarome Iginla from the Colorado Avalanche ahead of the NHL trade deadline Wednesday in exchange for a conditional draft pick, the team announced.

John Shannon‏ of Sportsnet first reported the deal. Joe McDonald of ESPN.com confirmed the agreement and noted the Kings are expected to play Iginla alongside star center Anze Kopitar.

Bob McKenzie of TSN provided further details about the trade:

The 39-year-old forward is no longer the offensive dynamo he was during his peak seasons with the Calgary Flames. He's racked up 1,291 points (619 goals and 672 assists) across 1,535 career games between the Flames, Avs, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins.

His numbers dropped off considerably for Colorado this season. He tallied just eight goals and 10 assists in 61 appearances as the team sank into the NHL basement.

Now the question is whether moving to a more competitive team in Los Angeles and the opportunity to play with Kopitar could cause a spark. Iginla is only one year removed from a 20-goal campaign with the Avalanche, so it's possible he could get hot down the stretch.

The front office may view the move as a chance to get Kopitar going. The centerman, who put up 74 points in 81 games last season, only has 36 points through 57 games during the current campaign. That includes the worst goal-scoring rate of his career.

That's one of the major reasons L.A. ranks 25th in goals per game. It also explains why the team was willing to take a chance on Iginla.

The Kings are one point behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with just under a quarter of the season to play. The offense must improve down the stretch in order to earn a postseason berth.

As for Iginla, the trade should make him happy. The winger told Josh Cooper of Yahoo Sports in early February he was hoping to get dealt away from the league's last-place team.

"I would like to, at the deadline, go somewhere," Iginla said. "I would like to be in the playoffs. I would hope that there is some opportunity to go and play in the playoffs. Those are the best games, the most fun for sure, and you have a chance to win. So no, I haven't given up on that chance to win."

The Kings aren't a lock to provide him with playoff hockey, but a rejuvenated performance from Iginla as the regular season winds down would go a long way toward making it happen.