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Iginla was great on and off the ice

July 30, 2018, 4:46 PM ET [4 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Jarome Iginla will eventually head into the Hockey Hall of Fame, great player that he was, and as a Calgary Flame. He’ll be eligible for induction in 2020 and will be in on the first ballot.

Iginla officially retired Monday in Calgary and I’m thankful for having had the opportunity to watch him in his prime while he captained the Flames but also to get to know him on a more personal level -- as much as a member of the media can – during his three seasons with the Avalanche.

Always personable, always friendly, always smiling, always accessible for an interview, probably at times when he would have preferred to leave the rink for home rather quickly after a practice.

Here’s video of IGINLA’S RETIREMENT SPEECH.

I’ll remember Iginla as much for his kindness as for anything he accomplished on the ice, and his HHOF credentials speak for themselves:

625 goals, 675 assists, 1,300 points in 1,554 regular-season games. He also was as tough as they come, a heck of a fighter who ended with 1,040 penalty minutes. He had 68 points (37 goals, 31 assists) and 98 penalty minutes in 81 playoff games.

Iginla twice won the Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer, the Art Ross Trophy as top scorer, the Lester B. Pearson Award as MVP voted by his peers, and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and Mark Messier Leadership Award for leadership on and off the ice as well for his humanitarian contributions.

The Stanley Cup was one of the few trophies to elude him; his Flames lost a seven-game series to Tampa Bay in 2004.

He did help to capture a bundle of championships in international competition for Canada, including two Olympic gold medals.

Aside from the Flames and Kings, Iginla briefly played for Pittsburgh, Boston and Los Angeles; he played his final 19 NHL games with the Kings at the end of the 2016-17 season after the Avalanche traded him with the hope he could help win that elusive Cup.

It didn’t happen, but what a fantastic career. Enjoy retirement with your family, Jarome Iginla, you’ve certainly earned it.

*****

Avalanche prospects will compete in the 2018 Vegas Rookie Faceoff at the Golden Knights’ City National Arena practice facility from Sept. 8-11.

Vegas, Anaheim, Arizona, Los Angeles and San Jose will also compete in the tournament. Each team will play three games.

The Avalanche will play Vegas on Saturday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. PT; Anaheim on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 5 p.m. PT; and San Jose on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 11:30 a.m. PT.

The Golden Knights will announce ticket and broadcast/stream information later. The Avalanche haven’t announced the prospects roster yet.



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