Iginla wants one more chance to win Stanley Cup

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Jarome Iginla wants one more chance to win the Stanley Cup.
That's why on Thursday, as he was two days earlier, the 40-year-old forward was at Dunkin' Donuts Center, practicing with Providence, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Boston Bruins, in an effort to drum up interest in a return to the NHL more than 10 months after his most recent game.

"I don't want to just play hockey," Iginla said. "I want to try to be part of the (Stanley Cup) Playoffs, and a chance to win, that is a goal. We'll see what happens. I don't know what will happen."
But he's willing to try. That's why he was on the ice, skating, shooting and doing drills, as the rest of the players readied themselves for a weekend of AHL games.

Iginla isn't sure when he'll take the ice again but hopes it will be soon.
One look at Iginla revealed much about where he has been since the March 28, 2013, trade that sent him from the Calgary Flames, where he spent the first 16 seasons of his NHL career, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. There was the No. 12 Colorado Avalanche helmet, the Los Angeles Kings pants -- souvenirs of an NHL career that has taken him to five teams and has included 1,554 regular-season games, 625 goals and 1,300 points.
One place it has never taken him is to a Stanley Cup-winning team.
That's what Iginla continues to seek as he attempts to come back for one more playoff run. Iginla has not considered what the future could hold beyond that; for now, it's just about this season, these playoffs and what might be during the next few months.
"I don't know if you say 'day by day,' but I'm not thinking down into the future," he said. "I'd like to be a part of the playoffs and find a way to play there and play with a team that you can contribute any way that you can, but also that you feel could win.
"[I'd] love to win, and every shot you can get, every chance you can get to be a part of that, I would take. It's always fun to play hockey and it's been a great living and job, but the playoffs are the most fun. They are, by far, the most fun. I'm sure if you ask any player; one more chance to win, I'd be thrilled."

Does he think he could be ready to step into an NHL game in a week?
"I do," said Iginla, who had hip surgery four months ago and last played in an NHL game April 9. "We've been pushing it for a while. So shapewise, definitely. I need a few more practices as far as down low and the hands and stuff. But shapewise I was happy with that because sometimes if you don't hit it right, if you don't practice, sometimes in training camp you just get so tired when you're doing the drills you can't think, and I didn't feel [like that]."
Iginla began skating about a month ago in the Boston area, where he and his family have made their home since last spring. His hip and his knee had bothered him last season with the Kings, who acquired him in a trade with the Avalanche on March 1, and he was taking anti-inflammatories to mask it.
But once he started training again in September, it became apparent that he needed to have surgery.
Iginla had been working with a skills coach but needed to test out the hip, and his fitness, in a real hockey setting; his agent, Don Meehan, reached out to the Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney to see if he could skate with Providence and to see if there could be a fit with Boston, where he spent the 2013-14 season, finishing with 61 points (31 goals, 30 assists) in 78 games.
"You have no idea how that's going to feel," Iginla said about getting back into a practice. "So just really to come down and make sure that I'm feeling good and physically feeling good because it's hard to say until you're actually trying to react, as opposed to when you just do normal drills."

Meehan has also talked to other teams about tryouts. Iginla knows that if anything is going to happen, it will have to happen this weekend. He needs to sign by the NHL Trade Deadline (Monday, 3 p.m. ET) to be eligible for the playoffs.
"I'd have to go skate with a team probably pretty quick," Iginla said. "There's four days left. I've talked to different teams, whether the opportunities, the weekend it's kind of moving stuff, teams are all working on different things. I'll talk to my agent today and see what it is. They'd probably have to get a quick look."
Iginla is not sure what's going to happen from here, but he's hopeful that there are NHL games ahead, perhaps even a chance to win.
"It's a tight timetable," he said. "That's for sure."