Calgary Flames: Jarome Iginla hangs up the skates
Former Calgary Flames Captain Jarome Iginla will announce his retirement from the NHL on July 30th.
Former Flames captain Jerome Iginla will make the announcement at a press conference with the team that traded him away after 16 seasons. Originally the Dallas Stars number 11 overall pick of the 1995 NHL entry draft, Iginla was traded to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Joe Nieuwendyk, who was engaged in a contract dispute with the team.
Iginla would go on to make his Flames debut in the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring his first goal in his second game. He would not return to his junior team and was second in the voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy in his rookie season, losing to Bryan Berard despite leading all rookies in scoring with 50 points.
Iginla Breaks Out
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The 2001-02 season would see Iginla win the Art Ross and Maurice Richard trophies as the NHL’s leading point getter and goal scorer. His peers voted him as the most valuable player as the recipient of the Lester B. Pearson Award.
Controversy about how the points were awarded saw Iginla take second place for the Hart Trophy behind Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jose Theodore. One voter left Iginla off his ballot completely, giving the Habs goalie one more first-place vote, making Theodore the Hart Trophy winner. This controversy caused the Professional Hockey Writers Association to change the voting rules to prevent any further issues.
Prior to the 2003-04 season, then Flames captain Craig Conroy relinquished the “C” in favor of Iginla. His 16 seasons with Calgary would see him become the Flames all-time leader in goals, points, games played, power play goals, and game-winning goals. His leadership on and off the ice would make Iginla one of the most respected players in the NHL.
Iginla would be the Flames captain until he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the teams he had indicated he would accept as a trade partner. His career as a Penguin lasted only one season as he would sign as a free agent with Boston Bruins the following season.
Salary issues would prevent the Bruins from re-signing him, so Iginla signed with the Colorado Avalanche the following season.
The Avs traded Iginla to the Los Angeles Kings in March of 2017. It was rumored that Iginla had hip surgery and the Kings did not resign him for the 2017-18 season.
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On and off the ice, he has one of the most impressive legacies in NHL history. Not only was Iginla an outstanding goal scorer, ranking 15th all-time with 625 goals scored, he also did a lot of amazing things off the ice. He won the 2004 NHL Foundation Player Award and 2003-04 King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his support of youth hockey programs, literacy, and diversity.