Veteran winger Jarome Iginla is set to begin skating within the next week or two after undergoing a procedure on his hip last month, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (video link). He has recently spoken with Team Canada officials regarding the upcoming Olympics and it’s believed that they are willing to extend an invitation to the unrestricted free agent to play in next month’s Spengler Cup. If he can get back into playing shape and do well in international play, the 40-year-old could draw some late-season NHL interest, especially after a strong finish to last season with the Kings where he scored six goals in 19 games.
More news and notes from around the hockey world:
- Dylan Strome is back with the Coyotes. The team announced that they have recalled him from Tuscon of the AHL while sending center Mario Kempe down. Strome made Arizona’s roster out of training camp but didn’t see much ice time early on which resulted in his demotion. However, he was extremely productive at the minor league level, collecting 26 points (8-18-26) in just 15 games. It will certainly be interesting to see how the Coyotes use him; will they ease him in or try to capitalize on his hot streak or work him into the lineup in a bottom six role? The latter is where Kempe was in Arizona’s lineup where he picked up two goals and two assists in 18 games.
- The Flyers are expected to get back defenseman Andrew MacDonald back in their lineup for Monday’s game in Pittsburgh, notes Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He’s expected to be thrown right into the fire by skating on the top pairing alongside Ivan Provorov. MacDonald has been out for more than a month with a leg injury and ranks fourth on the team in ice time by a defenseman at 19:38 per game.
Strome better get top 6 minutes. Otherwise its a waste.