Jarome Iginla to return to Calgary for retirement announcement

Jul 25 2018, 10:34 pm

After a 20-year NHL career, Jarome Iginla has finally decided that it’s time to hang up his skates.

The 41-year-old spent 16 seasons on the ice with the Calgary Flames, so it’s only fitting that he will officially end his career back in the city where he rose to prominence.

See also

Iginla will make the announcement on Monday, July 30 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

“In a sense, I grew up there,” Iginla said of Calgary. “I started playing for the Flames at 19 but even in minor hockey I remember traveling to Calgary for tournaments, from St. Albert, and I imagined playing in the Saddledome.

“It’s been a fun adventure, for my family and I. Some great cities, great people. To be back in Alberta, though, will feel like home.”

Iginla hasn’t played a game in 15 months, as he had been trying to improve his health after a hip resurfacing procedure.

Drafted 11th overall by the Dallas Stars in 1995, Iginla was traded to the Flames in December of the same year.

The team’s captain for 10 seasons, Iginla will be most fondly remembered for leading the Flames to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2004. Iginla holds the record for most games played in a Flames jersey with 1,219, along with most goals scored (525), most points (1,095), and most power play goals (161).

A two-time 50-goal scorer, Iginla won the Art Ross, Rocket Richard, and Lester B. Pearson Trophies in 2002. He would add another Richard Trophy two years later in 2004.

Iginla was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013, and would also play for the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche before finishing off his career with the LA Kings.

A shoo-in for the Hockey Hall of Fame one day, Iginla should see his No. 12 jersey hung in the rafters at the Saddledome in the not too distant future.

See also
Chandler WalterChandler Walter

+ Offside
+ Hockey
ADVERTISEMENT