Iginla to Edmonton? What a trade could mean for the Battle of Alberta

With only hours remaining before the NHL trade deadline, future Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla is still a member of the Colorado Avalanche. But it's clear to all involved that he likely won't be wearing the snow-capped "A" for very long.

The 39-year-old is playing out the final season of the three-year deal he signed with Colorado in 2014, and the club's consistent lack of success since that signing has left Iginla looking for a new opportunity to vie for the Stanley Cup.

"I would like to, at the deadline, go somewhere," Iginla said early in February. "I would like to be in the playoffs."

Bad news for Calgary Flames fans: though Iginla made his name in Calgary, dominating the league throughout his 16-year career in Flames colors and becoming one of the franchise's most iconic figures, his best chance at a 2017 playoff appearance might be with the rival Edmonton Oilers.

Contenders can't handle him

Who else would be able to take in the veteran sniper? Iginla isn't showing up with just a few sticks and his elite wrister. He also brings a hefty $5.3-million cap hit to town - tough to absorb for a player who can still put up numbers, but who's clearly well past his prime.

The strongest contenders in the league - the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Minnesota Wild - don't have nearly enough space to make that work.

The Penguins could technically use their LTIR situation to swing something, but they've already seen the Iginla experiment come up short in the Steel City, and likely wouldn't give up anything significant for round two.

As for the other three teams, money aside, there seems to be no place for the veteran among their forward corps.

Home away from home

One playoff team that does have enough space? The Oilers, whose seven entry-level contracts leave them millions to work with. But Iginla's potential fit goes beyond the financials.

Unlike many of the top contenders, whose games are based on speed and well-established chemistry, the Oilers' style meshes perfectly with the former Flames captain's.

Just look at the success of rugged forwards Patrick Maroon and Zack Kassian. General manager Peter Chiarelli hasn't been shy about adding size up front, and Iginla remains one of the league's most potent blends of physicality and pure skill.

For Iginla, Edmonton would be the best of both worlds. It would give him a chance to dabble in the playoffs again - and who knows what can happen with generational phenom Connor McDavid leading the charge - and a chance to go home. The veteran was born in Edmonton and grew up nearby in St. Albert.

(Photo courtesy: Reuters)

Bye bye, Flames legacy

That's all well and good, but it's fair to assume Iginla would effectively torpedo his legacy in Calgary by going to Edmonton.

That's tough to imagine, considering all he did in Calgary, but this wouldn't be the same as other longtime franchise stars who finished their careers in different threads. Sure, Mats Sundin had a wacky year in Vancouver Canucks colors, and it was strange to watch Bobby Orr in a Chicago Blackhawks jersey at the tail end of his career.

But the pain of seeing Iginla in Edmonton would go much deeper, because the Flames and Oilers started from the same spot.

Both teams were whittled down to basement-dwellers, and both forced to slowly rebuild. However, while the Flames earned only a handful of decent top-tier picks - and a miraculous hidden gem in Johnny Gaudreau - the Oilers received a seemingly unending stream of No. 1 selections, culminating in the greatest prize of them all: McDavid.

There's no doubt Flames fans are bitter about how it all played out. Aside from Calgary's brief foray into the 2015 playoffs, the Oilers' fortunes have been greater than Calgary's for decades. But Edmonton landing McDavid, the future of the sport, was a particularly catastrophic turn of events in Calgary.

The only thing that could make it sting even more? McDavid marching through the playoffs with Jarome Iginla on his wing. Not a good look in the eyes of the Calgary faithful.