The Pittsburgh Penguins have added forward Brenden Morrow and defenseman Douglas Murray in recent trades, but don’t count them out of the Jarome Iginla sweepstakes just yet.
They still have interest in Iginla and plan to pursue him, according to an ESPN source.
If that sounds far-fetched, keep in mind what Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero said in a recent NHL.com interview:
“It just seems this is the one year too that teams have that extra cap space. Where a team like us in the last couple of years really didn’t have any cap space and maybe moving forward with the cap going down, we might not have that in the future.”
In other words, there’s a unique opportunity for the Penguins to add big in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup without being overly concerned about exceeding the cap. If the Penguins pass on this chance, they might not find themselves in a position like this in future campaigns.
Meanwhile, one of their principal Eastern Conference rivals, the Boston Bruins, are also on the shortlist of teams that Iginla would accept a trade to.
If the Penguins don’t get Iginla, they might have to play against him in the second round or Eastern Conference Finals, although it’s worth adding that the Bruins are reportedly looking at alternatives to Iginla.
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