Looking Back…at the rankings from December of 2002

Darren Kennedy

2014-09-17

iggy

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,

UPCOMING GAMES

Oct 22 - 18:10	PHI	vs	WSH
Oct 22 - 18:10	FLA	vs	MIN
Oct 22 - 18:10	N.J	vs	T.B
Oct 22 - 19:10	BUF	vs	DAL
Oct 22 - 19:10	MTL	vs	NYR
Oct 22 - 19:10	CBJ	vs	TOR
Oct 22 - 19:10	NYI	vs	DET
Oct 22 - 20:10	STL	vs	WPG
Oct 22 - 20:10	CHI	vs	VAN
Oct 22 - 20:10	SEA	vs	COL
Oct 22 - 20:10	NSH	vs	BOS
Oct 22 - 21:10	EDM	vs	CAR
Oct 22 - 21:10	UTA	vs	OTT
Oct 22 - 21:10	CGY	vs	PIT
Oct 22 - 22:10	ANA	vs	S.J
Oct 22 - 23:10	VGK	vs	L.A