The pride of St. Albert achieved another milestone in a Hall of Fame career.
Jarome Iginla of the Colorado Avalanche is the 16th National Hockey League player to surpass the 1,500 game mark and Sunday’s assist in the 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre was the 1,280th point in his 20th season of greatness.
“It’s one of those things you don’t really think about along the way, but as it approaches and I get there, or get really close, it definitely makes me appreciate how fortunate I have been and to play this long and play that amount of games,” Iginla told Joe McDonald of ESPN.com, prior to his 1,500th game Saturday against the Montreal Canadians at the Bell Centre.
“When you start, you don’t think about it like that, you’re just playing. It’s one also that I’m very thankful for because a lot of it is staying healthy. A lot of that is out of control and I’ve been very fortunate, very lucky.”
Iginla, 39, is now 13 back of Steve Yzerman and 23 behind Brendan Shanahan in games played after breaking into the NHL with the Calgary Flames.
The six-time all-star has yet to miss a game with Colorado since signing as a free agent on his birthday, July 1, two years ago.
The right winger remains Calgary’s all-time franchise leader in goals (525), points (1,095) and games played (1,219).
Colorado is Iginla’s third NHL team after 16 seasons with Calgary, including nine as the team captain.
“I’ve gotten to experience a lot of different things, my family and I, different cities and I wouldn’t change it. It’s been great. It’s been a big adventure. It’s gone fast. It’s been really enjoyable,” said the three-time Olympian and two-time gold medallist with Team Canada.
There is speculation Iginla will retire after the season.
“It’s truly a decision I’ll make at the end of the year and see how it goes. I’m just trying to enjoy it right now,” said the graduate of the bantam AAA Sabres and midget AAA Raiders.
But as an unrestricted free agent, the scuttlebutt in Denver is Iginla will consider waiving his no-trade clause in the final season of his three-year, $16 million contract for Colorado to explore its options of trading the St. Albert minor hockey product to a Stanley Cup contender.
The closest Iginla came to winning a Stanley Cup was 2004, when Calgary lost the final to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the score in game seven was 2-1.
“Yeah, it is part of it because every year you play, you have a chance to win. I’d obviously still like to win and compete for it and stuff, so that is part of it, yeah, there is no question. But in saying that, I mean, at a certain point I’ve been very fortunate and got to play a long time. I’ve had a ton of fun. Played with great players, played in great situations and I’ve been fortunate to score goals and things like that, so there are lots of things I’m thankful for. In a perfect world, yeah, I’d love to win in one of my last years, or my last year, but we’ll see,” said the gold medallist for Canada with the U18 national team in 1994 and at the 1996 IIHF World Junior Championship, 1997 IIHF World Championship and 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
So far this season, Iginla has three goals and seven points in 27 games after compiling 22 goals and 47 points in 82 games the previous campaign.
The 2002 Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL’s top point producer (96 in 82 games) has recorded 30 or more goals 12 times, 20 or more goals 17 times and registered at least 50 points in 16 seasons.
The recipient of the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in 2002 (52), and 2004 (co-winner with Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk at 41 apiece) ranks 16th in goals with 614 and is within striking distance of Joe Sakic’s 625.
The next point for Iginla will tie Alex Delvecchio for 34th all-time with 1,281.
Meanwhile, Iginla’s 1,500th game was the 10-1 laugher by the Canadians.
“One of the rougher games in the 1,500 (club),” said the Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Lorne Akins and Paul Kane alumnus after the loss. “But those happen and that’s sport. It felt good to go out and play it. Guys, and family, were supportive and it was cool to do it here but not the result (I wanted). I’m still thankful for hitting 1,500.”
What irked the two-time Memorial Cup champion with the Kamloops Blazers and Western Hockey League player of the year in 1996 was the low hip check by Alex Emelin that sent Colorado’s Joe Colborne flipping through the air late in the game, prompting Iginla to defend his teammate against the clean hit along the boards.
“At that point of the game when they’re beating us like that, it’s not really a matter of whether it’s clean or not,” said Iginla, who has never shied away from the rough stuff with 1,005 career penalty minutes. “Just don’t think (it’s right). If I’m going up-over like that with two minutes left and down 10-1 I’d hope guys are coming in (for me). That’s the way I’ve played and I think that’s the way it should be played. They can do the hit if they want. It’s part of the game. But we’re allowed to do what we do too. That’s what penalty minutes and stuff are for.”
