The 2001-02 Season
Jarome Iginla had a sort of slow start to his NHL career. Sure, he scored 112 regular season goals by the time he turned 24. That’s pretty impressive. But Iginla didn’t truly blossom until the 2001-02 season.
That’s when he won the first of his two Rocket Richards, his lone Art Ross Trophy, and his lone Lester B. Pearson Award as the player’s pick for the most outstanding player. Iginla also finished second to Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens in the Hart Trophy race as the NHL’s MVP.
Iginla won these awards even though the Flames didn’t make the postseason. Had they made the postseason, it’s very likely he would have won the Hart Trophy. But Iginla deserved the MVP regardless. This isn’t to say Theodore didn’t. He posted unbelievable numbers (30 wins and a .931 save percentage on an otherwise mediocre Habs team) and if it wasn’t for him, they likely wouldn’t have made the playoffs.
However, Iginla finished tied with Theodore in points during the voting process. The latter wound up winning because he had more first-place votes (26 to 23). One writer inexplicably left him off his ballot, which wound up being the difference.
Whether or not Iginla should have won the MVP is up for debate. But what isn’t up for debate is Iginla’s greatness started to show in 2001-02.