Iginla earned his second Rocket Richard Trophy after being appointed captain, sharing the goal-scoring lead with Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash with 41 goals. The Flames qualified as the sixth seed for the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, marking the team's first playoff trip in eight years. They were defeated by the seventh-seeded San Jose Sharks in five games.
Iginla had already been elected captain of the team during the 2003-04 season when president of hockey operations Jay Feaster announced at the end of that campaign that Iginla would be given the honor again for the 2004-05 season. At the time of his retirement in 2015, Iginla led all NHL players in game-winning goals with 102.
The Calgary native was named to the NHL's All-Star Game for the first time in 2005, finishing third in voting for the "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league leader in goals. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2006 and 2007 before being eliminated in both events. Iginla has also been selected to play in the NHL Winter Classic on NBC Sports Network on January 1, 2012, against the Boston Bruins in Edmonton Capital Centre. He scored two goals in this match played in a snowed-out field.
Iginla signed a one-year contract worth $7 million with the Flames on July 1, 2009.
In 2003-04, Iginla tied for the NHL lead with 41 goals and led all players with 13 goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs, leading the Flames to within one victory of a championship. Iginla signed with the Colorado Avalanche before the 2014-15 season after previously playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins. He won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2006 as the league's most gentlemanly player.
Iginla was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the first round (third overall) of the 1994 NHL Draft. He played three seasons with the University of Maine Black Bears before turning pro. In his first season as a Flame, Iginla helped lead Calgary to its first ever Stanley Cup title with a win over the New Jersey Devils in seven games. The following season, he scored 51 goals, which at the time was a club record. He has since been surpassed by Mark Giordano and Gabriel Landeskog. Iginla ended up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs that year.
After eight more seasons in Calgary, during which time he became one of the best power forwards in the game, Iginla left as a free agent after the 2012-13 season to join the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his first season with the Penguins, Iginla helped them reach the Stanley Cup final before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks. He returned for another season with Pittsburgh but was unable to help them win the cup this time around.
Iginla, the WHL Player of the Year in 1995-96 after collecting 63 goals and 136 points in 63 games with Kamloops, joined the Flames in a December 1995 deal that sent Joe Nieuwendyk to Dallas. Six times named to the NHL All-Star Game, Iginla scored at least 30 goals in 11 straight seasons (2000-01 through 2011-12). He finished with 1,037 points in 810 career games over 16 seasons with Calgary and Dallas. The Flames retired Iginla's number 9 on January 5, 2015.
Iginla was born on March 20, 1978 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He played junior hockey for the Victoria Grizzlies of the Western Hockey League before turning pro with the Kansas City Blades of the International Hockey League. In 1994-95, Iginla led the WHL in scoring with 163 points to win the Jack Adams Award as league MVP. He also won the award in 2001-02 when he had 99 points. Iginla was drafted first overall by the Flames in the 1997 NHL Draft after playing only one season at Boston University. He has since become one of hockey's best power forwards, winning two Stanley Cups with the Flames in '03 and '11 and being named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner after leading his team to its second championship in 2011. Iginla has also won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy three times, awarded to the player who leads the league in goals. He is a four-time winner of the Mark Messier Leadership Award given to the most valuable player voted by his teammates.
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