Pens/Bruins Sub-Plots, Acquisition Of Lafleur, Who Will The Habs Draft?... And More

Good Morning Addicts!

Jarome Iginla of the Pittsburgh Penguins will face off against
the Boston Bruins tonight in the Eastern Conference
Quarter Finals.

Normally I like to concentrate on the Habs in this short piece before sharing headlines from various hockey sites, but considering the previous four Stanley Cup winners all kick off the conference finals today I figured I would focus my attention on one match up in particular.

While the series between the Kings and Blackhawks is guaranteed to be a great one, you can't help but look forward to the sub plots in the Bruins/Penguins match up. The two that stick out are obviously the return of Jaromir Jagr to Pittsburgh and Jarome Iginla facing off against a team that not only almost acquired him at the trade deadline, but for a while thought they had.

The Jagr story is getting a little old. When Jagr returned from playing in the KHL for three years in 2011-12, he chose to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers, the rival team of his former Pittsburgh Penguins. Since then he's signed as a free agent with the Dallas Stars before being traded to his current team, the Boston Bruins. So although he's facing off against his former team, it doesn't quite have the same impact it would have if he were still on the Flyers.

Jarome Iginla however, is the story I'm more interested in. At this year's trade deadline the Bruins were all but sure that Iginla was headed to Beantown. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli had made the necessary moves in the organization and moved all the pieces that needed to be moved in order for Iginla to don the black and gold. I can't be too sure what happened but Penguins GM Ray Shero managed to come out on top and Iginla now has 12 points in 11 playoff games as a Penguin. It should be noted that the Bruins were also high on Brendan Morrow at the deadline but lost out.... to the Penguins.

Habs And Hockey News

- Matt Drake over at Habs Eyes On The Prize writes about the genius of Sam Pollock  and how he managed to acquire the draft pick that was used to make Guy Lafleur a Canadien.

- Speaking of Lafleur, the Habs legend has been quite hard on the organization over the last few years but it seems that "the flower" is finally optimistic about the team's future.

- With the future now mentioned, here's a look at who may be available for the Habs when it's Trevor Timmins and co's turn to make their selection at the 2013 NHL entry draft.


(Photo By AP / Gene J. Puskar)

Posted in: boston bruins,Guy LaFleur,jarome iginla,jaromir jagr,peter chiarelli,pittsburgh penguins,ray shero,Sam Pollock