Looking Back…at the rankings from December of 2002
Darren Kennedy
2014-09-17
Looking back to December of 2002 and the triumphant career of Jarome Iginla
The Jarome Iginla of today is not the Jarome Iginla of yesterday. And that's ok.
No player, no matter his greatness, no matter the individual talent or accolades (or fantasy hockey championships) can remain elite forever. There will always come that time when forever early round picks (Heatley, Datsyuk,…etc) slip down into the mid-rounds, sometimes falling all the way to the end of your draft. Or in some rare cases being cast off to the waiver wire to wait patiently until some desperate manager takes a gamble part way through the year.
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What's amazing about Iginla is that he's found a way to stay relevant, even as he enters this season for Colorado at the age of 37. Most of his contemporaries have either retired, or long since begun the glorified walk towards the setting sun sitting on the skyline.
Not Iginla. Not yet anyway.
Part of the joy of fantasy hockey for me, and for a number of poolies, is getting to cheer for your favourite players. Even though your team is, in a sense, superficial (we of course aren't running a REAL hockey team), there is certain feeling that comes along with having guys on 'your' squad. For a decade, having Iginla meant not having to worry about your wingers – in any way. He quite literally did it all. In points only leagues he was regular threat for 90, having reached the mark on three occasions. In multi-category formats, few provided his coverage across the board – 35 or more goals, close to 300 shots, with 80 penalty minutes.
As a cherry on top of the metaphorical cake – he rarely missed any extended time with injury. In nine of his seasons Iignla managed to play 82 games. Never, over a 17 season career, did he play in less than 70 games. It's that kind of consistency that we all crave in fantasy. The ability to draft your roster and know, with little doubt, that this was your team.
When you drafted Iginla you know he'd be there. Always.
| Team | PLAYER | Rating |
| Was | J.JAGR | 195.9 |
| Col | J.SACKIC | 162.6 |
| Col | P.FORSBERG | 156.1 |
| Van | M.NASLUND | 137.8 |
| Bos | J.THORNTON | 135.4 |
| Van | T.BERTUZZI | 132.2 |
| Pit | A.KOVALEV | 128.1 |
| NYR | P.BURE | 112.4 |
| Ott | M.HOSSA | 106.3 |
| Pit | M.LEMIEUX | 103.9 |
| NYI | A.YASHIN | 102.5 |
| Dal | M.MODANO | 99.7 |
| Det | S.FEDOROV | 99.4 |
| Atl | I.KOVALCHUK | 99.2 |
| MIN | M.GABORIK | 98.5 |
| Tor | M.SUNDIN | 97.9 |
| Anh | P.KARIYA | 95.4 |
| Van | B.MORRISON | 95 |
| Phi | S.GAGNE | 92.2 |
| Edm | M.COMRIE | 92 |
| StL | D.WEIGHT | 88 |
| StL | P.DEMITRA | 84.3 |
| Cal | J.IGINLA | 82.9 |
| Det | B.SHANAHAN | 82.6 |
| NYR | E.LINDROS | 80.5 |
| Car | J.O’NEIL | 79.4 |
| Dal | B.GUERIN | 78.8 |
| SJ | T.SELANNE | 78.7 |
| LA | Z.PALFFY | 78.7 |
| Atl | D.HEATLEY | 77.9 |
| Ott | D.ALFREDSSON | 77.3 |
| TB | V.LECAVALIER | 76.7 |
| NJ | P.ELIAS | 76.4 |
| Phi | J.ROENICK | 76.3 |
| Pit | A.MOROZOV | 74.9 |
| SJ | P.MARLEAU | 74.3 |
| StL | K.TKACHUK | 69.6 |
| Buf | M.SATAN | 68.6 |
| Bos | G.MURRAY | 68.3 |
| Tor | A.MOGILNY | 68 |
| Ott | M.HAVLAT | 67.3 |
| Pho | T.AMONTE | 66.3 |
| Phi | M.RECCHI | 66.1 |
| Ott | R.BONK | 65.6 |
| Anh | P.SYKORA | 64.8 |
| Det | N.LIDSTROM | 64.8 |
| Col | C.DRURY | 63.3 |
| Pho | D.BRIERE | 62.6 |
| TB | B.RICHARDS | 61.3 |
| Was | P.BONDRA | 60.4 |
Last year with the Bruins, he still provided value skating with Krejci and Lucic. Sure, he was somewhat sheltered, and didn't play the massive minutes he'd seen in Calgary. But he was productive. Those 61 points and 209 shots made him a legitimate option in virtually all formats. It also marked the 12th time he has broken 30 goals.
Now, with a new deal in Colorado, we can likely look forward to another three years of draft worthy production. With Duchene and MacKinnon (or MacKinnon and Duchene) as the team's first and second line centers, there's little reason to doubt that Iginla can still be a force. His skating has declined, there is no question of that. No longer can he power through checks and effectively get to scoring areas like he once did. But his snap shot – long admired in Calgary – continues to provide fits for goalies. With his new linemates, and perhaps old running mate Alex Tanguay setting him up on the power play, the numbers could stay strong.
There are some who would have liked to have seen Iginla play his entire career in Calgary and retire as a Flame. An understandable hope whenever a player is with one team long enough. In fantasy, though, I can't think of a better scenario than this. Us getting to enjoy our long-time first round, cornerstone pick, for at least another three years.
Oh to be a poolie.
*
This week's looking back post will be my final entry here at DobberHockey. Writing for this site and connecting with the community over this past year has been an absolute joy for me. I can remember checking the ramblings every day when first starting out in fantasy hockey. Getting the opportunity to write them on a number of occasions was truly special as both a writer and hockey fan. I want to thank Dobber for taking a chance on me when I was just a guy perpetually emailing him, trying desperately to land a writing gig with his team. I've made a number of connections to fellow writers at the site. I'm always blown away by the quality of work here, and will be returning as a regular reader most days. And to all the community members I've connected with over twitter and in the forums, I say a heartfelt thank you, it's been a tonne of fun. If you're ever looking to talk hockey (and I'm ALWAYS looking to talk hockey) then you can find me on twitter @fantasyhockeydk.
Cheers,
dk
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