Veteran forward Jarome Iginla expressed desire leading up to the NHL trade deadline to get moved to a more competitive NHL team than the Colorado Avalanche. Roughly two hours before the trade deadline came to a close Wednesday, Iginla got his wish.

The Avalanche announced Wednesday that the 39-year-old right winger was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional fourth-round 2018 draft pick.

The move gives Iginla the opportunity to play for a team that’s in the race for a playoff spot. The Kings (69 points) are chasing Calgary (72 points) and St. Louis (67 points) for the Western Conference wild card spots.

Iginla, whose contract expires at the end of this year, is having the roughest season of his 20-year NHL career. He currently has eight goals and 10 assists.

Iginla has scored 619 goals in his career, which ranks 16th all time.

The Avalanche are in the midst of their worst season since the team moved to Colorado in 1995. They have 37 points and a minus-82 goal differential in 61 games.

This was the first significant move they’ve made at the trade deadline, which ends at 1 p.m. MT Wednesday. They’ve yet to part ways with Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, higher profile players who could get them a significant haul in return.

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