Former Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla announced his retirement from the league at a press conference from the Saddledome on Monday morning.
Iginla played in the NHL for 20 seasons, 16 of those with the Calgary Flames.
He played in over 1200 games and had 525 goals, 1095 points and 570 assists while playing for the team.
He was selected in the first round by Dallas in 1995 at the age of 18 and landed in Calgary later that same year in a trade for Joe Nieuwendyk.
The 41-year-old also played for Pittsburgh, Boston, Colorado and Los Angeles and played his last game on April 9, 2017.
The Flames held a news conference at the Saddledome at 10:30 a.m. and longtime play-by-play announcer Peter Maher emceed the event.
“I had the pleasure of seeing him play every game in the Flames colours and it was an honour,” said Maher.
“Welcome home kid,” said President and CEO Ken King. ”Jarome Iginla was the class of the field, there was never any question about that.”
Former players told stories about Iginla’s play and presence on the ice and in the dressing room.
“Jarome has a gift of signing autographs, shaking hands, going to schools, donating to charities and that’s what makes him the classiest person I’ve ever played with,” said Martin Gelinas. “It was a privilege to play with him.”
“We became fast friends once we got going and he decided he liked me a little more than he did at the beginning but I mean the one thing that he could do was always elevate his game. When we needed him, you know, we didn’t have a whole bunch of stars, we had Kipper and Jarome, and when we needed him to do something he did it,” said Assistant General Manager, Craig Conroy. “As nice as he was off the ice he was a true competitor on the ice and whatever, if we needed a fight or we needed a big hit, if we needed a big goal, he was there to do it. For about three or four years, I don’t think there was a better player in the NHL.”
Iginla says he wanted to return to Calgary to make the announcement among friends and family.
“It would have been easier to maybe not have to do a speech,” Iginla joked. “I was so excited to be here and my family and share it with everybody and to come back to the City of Calgary and say thank you, it’s, this is home, come back to Alberta to be here to say thank you to the fans and to the great organization that is the Calgary Flames and so many great memories here,” he said.
Iginla says his biggest accomplishment was taking the team all the way to the 2004 Stanley Cup finals.
He says he is not sure what his next step will be but he’s planning to settle in Boston and get involved in hockey with his three children.
