Iginla makes himself at home with Boston Bruins

It didn't take Jarome Iginla long to feel at home.

Iginla stepped on the ice as a Boston Bruins player for the first time Tuesday, taking part in drills with new teammates Tuukka Rask, David Krejci, Daniel Paille and Dennis Seidenberg in Wilmington, Mass.

"It felt good, and it's great to be here at the facility and get a chance to meet some of the guys, and just starting it up again," the longtime Calgary Flames captain told the Bruins' website.

The Bruins tried to acquire Iginla as the 2013 NHL Trade Deadline approached in April, but he chose to go to the Pittsburgh Penguins instead. Three months and a sweep of the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals later, the Bruins signed him as a free agent.

Iginla said he got a warm welcome during the summer from a lot of his new teammates.

"The guys are great," he said. "Right when I signed they were very welcoming, and I appreciated that texts and calls I got from the guys. But it's great to be here now and to start mixing in and getting to know them more."

One reason for coming to Boston two weeks before training camp begins is to help his family make the transition to a new home.

"[My] kids start school [Wednesday], so I wanted to get here early and get as many kinks out as far as knowing the practice-route drive or learning a bit about Boston downtown, and also having some fun and just relaxing here," he said. "It is nice to be here a couple of weeks before camp and just to feel comfortable."

Iginla signed a one-year contract with the Bruins after scoring 33 points (14 goals) last season with Calgary and Pittsburgh. He had scored 30 or more goals in each of the previous 11 seasons.

He said he'd like to get back to being a 30-goal scorer again and wants to help the Bruins return to the Stanley Cup Final. Boston won the Cup in 2011 and lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in a six-game Final this spring. Iginla has made one trip to the Final during his career; the Flames lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games in 2004.

He said he wants to be a consistent producer on a winning team after playing for a Calgary team that hasn’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2009.

"I know a lot of the guys here; getting that close last year, a lot of them have already won, but you talk to them and you talk to guys who won, and you just want to get back there and win again," he said. "So I'd love to be a part of that."