The No. 11 pick by the Dallas Stars in the 1995 NHL Draft, Iginla won or contended for nearly every award available to an NHL forward in a career that culminated with his election to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020 -- starting with a runner-up finish to Bryan Berard of the New York Islanders for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 1996-97, when he scored 50 points (21 goals, 29 assists) for the Calgary Flames.
A two-time Memorial Cup winner with Kamloops of the Western Hockey League, Iginla skated right out of junior hockey into the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Flames. He played two games in a first-round loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. The WHL Player of the Year for 1995-96 after scoring 63 goals and 136 points in 63 games with Kamloops, Iginla became Flames property as part of a December 1995 trade that sent Joe Nieuwendyk to Dallas.
The No. 11 pick by the Dallas Stars in the 1995 NHL Draft, Iginla won or contended for nearly every award available to an NHL forward, starting with a runner-up finish to Bryan Berard of the New York Islanders for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 1996-97, when he scored 50 points (21 goals, 29 assists) for the Calgary Flames.
A two-time Memorial Cup winner with Kamloops of the Western Hockey League, Iginla skated right out of junior hockey into the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Flames. He played two games in a first-round loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. The WHL Player of the Year for 1995-96 after scoring 63 goals and 136 points in 63 games with Kamloops, Iginla became Flames property as part of a Dec. 1995 trade that sent Joe Nieuwendyk to Dallas.
Iginla won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer twice (2001-02, 2003-04), the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer once (2001-02) and the Ted Lindsay Award as the League's Most Outstanding Player as voted by his peers once (2001-02).
An NHL All-Star Game selection six times, Iginla topped 30 goals for 11 consecutive seasons (2000-01 through 2011-12). In 2003-04, Iginla tied for the NHL lead with 41 goals, and in the Stanley Cup Playoffs topped all players with 13 goals while taking the Flames within one win of a championship.
Iginla was the face of the Flames for more than a decade before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 28, 2013. He helped the Penguins reach the Eastern Conference Final, then signed with the team that eliminated them, the Boston Bruins, as a free agent.
After scoring 30 goals for the Bruins in 2013-14, Iginla signed with the Colorado Avalanche on July 1, 2014. He scored 29 and 22 goals in his first two seasons with Colorado and became the 19th player to score 600 NHL goals on Jan. 4, 2016.
Iginla played the last 19 games of his NHL career with the Kings after being traded to Los Angeles by the Avalanche on March 1, 2017. He retired with exactly 1,300 points (625 goals, 675 assists) in 1,554 NHL games, as well as 68 points (37 goals, 31 assists) in 81 playoff games. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020, his first year of eligibility.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- George Parsons Trophy (Memorial Cup - Most Sportsmanlike Player) (1995)
- WHL West First All-Star Team (1996)
- WHL Player of the Year (1996)
- Canadian Major Junior First All-Star Team (1996)
- NHL All-Rookie Team (1997)
- NHL First All-Star Team (2002, 2008, 2009)
- NHL Second All-Star Team (2004)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2012)
- Traded to Calgary by Dallas with Corey Millen for Joe Nieuwendyk, December 19, 1995.
- Traded to Pittsburgh by Calgary for Kenny Agostino, Ben Hanowski and Pittsburgh's 1st round pick (Morgan Klimchuk) in 2013 NHL Draft, March 28, 2013.
- Signed as a free agent by Boston, July 5, 2013.
- Signed as a free agent by Colorado, July 1, 2014.
- Traded to Los Angeles by Colorado for a conditional pick in 2018 NHL Draft, March 1, 2017.
