The greatest player in Calgary Flames franchise history will soon be enshrined in hockey’s most hallowed grounds. The Hockey Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday afternoon that Jarome Iginla will be part of its 2020 class of inductees.
Iginla, 42, is three years removed from an incredibly impressive playing career.
A product of St. Albert, Alberta – an Edmonton suburb – he played his minor hockey in his hometown before playing three seasons with the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers. A first round selection of the Dallas Stars in 1995, he was subsequently traded to Calgary for Joe Nieuwendyk (in a rare swap of future Hall of Famers).
Debuting for the Flames in the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, Iginla went on to become the team’s franchise leader in basically every offensive category. Taking a few seasons to find his stride as a player and a leader, he began a string of 13 consecutive 20+ goal seasons in 1998-99 and became an alternate captain the following season. He found another gear in his game in 2001-02, scoring 52 goals and capturing the NHL’s scoring title in both goals and points. He was named Flames captain in 2003-04 and led them to within a win of a Stanley Cup. He subsequently finished his career with stops in Pittsburgh, Boston, Colorado and Los Angeles.
Iginla’s case for Hall of Fame induction was pretty cut-and-dried:
  • Excellence: You can make a case that there was no better power forward in hockey between 2001 and 2011. Until Alexander Ovechkin entered the game, there may not have been a better pure goal-scorer in hockey.
  • Leadership: He was Flames captain for a decade (2003-13) and received league-wide recognition for his leadership and charitable work.
  • Intangibles: He had a ton of fights and had both the fear and respect of his opponents.
  • International Resume: Gold medals from the World Cup, World Juniors, World Championships and Olympics.
Historically-speaking, Iginla was one of the best players of his generation. He scored over 600 goals. He had over 1,300 points. He was always good and was great for long stretches of his career. He was one of the most visible players of colour in hockey for much of his career. He set up one of the most important goals in Canadian hockey history – the “Golden Goal” in the 2010 Winter Olympics – and his performances in the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs – notably “The Shift” – are the stuff of legend.
Simply put: Iginla was really, really good at hockey, and will be immortalized in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The 2020 class is currently scheduled to be inducted in November.