It is going to be a fairly tough off-season for Flames GM Darryl Sutter, who must spend his finite resources (money) to retain his current roster and possibly get stronger for next year.Unfortunately, Sutter may not be able to hang on to both Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff:
With the two capable of commanding $8 or $9 million a year on the open market come July 2008, few believe Sutter will be able to shoehorn them into a salary cap that should be no more than $50 million by then.
Given a (possible) $50mil salary cap, signing both should be very possible. BUT, if you were forced between choosing either one, who would you go with?
Iginla is coming off a steller year, which he tends to do when his contract is coming to expiration. With 94 points in 70 games, Iginla was one of the top scorers in the NHL this season, and adds a level of physical play that many other scoring stars do not.
Iginla is also the younger of the two, as he'll be 30 when next season kicks off.
Kiprusoff? He's coming off of a poor season (by his standards), where he had just a 91.7SV% after seasons of 92.3% and 93.3%. He's also a year older than Iginla.
For my money? Well, I'd take Kiprusoff. We've seen this season, in New Jersey and Vancouver, that a great goaltender can carry a team a lot further than one lone forward.
Iginla does not strike me as the type of forward you build a franchise around, given that he doesn't tend to make his linemates significantly better. Notice how he had a great year after the Flames got some help for him? Guys like Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby make their linemates better and more productive, but Iginla doesn't have that same effect.
In addition, I believe Iginla's true level of production is found in his non-contract years.
When Iginla's contract was up, he put up 96 and 94 point seasons. In other seasons, he's put up 71, 67, 73, and 67 points. If you sign Iginla to a 3 or 4-year deal, it's quite likely he'll revert to being just a very good player.
