CALGARY -- It was the end of an era as a hockey legend officially hung up his skates on Monday morning in Calgary. Jarome Iginla officially announced his retirement from pro hockey at a press conference at the Scotiabank Saddledome attended by familiar faces from the Calgary Flames franchise, both past and present.
The event was punctuated by both levity and nostalgia, with former linemates (and current Flames executives) Craig Conroy and Martin Gelinas paying tribute to Iginla and dishing out a few good-natured digs at his expense.
"It's still a tough day for me because you think Jarome's going to play forever. And he's not going to play forever. He's human like the rest of us and now he's hobbling around with a new hip so that really proves it," Conroy said to a room full of laughs.
Iginla had a few zingers of his own toward Conroy.
"You're busting...well I won't say that phrase, you were giving me a hard time, but you were better than I thought were going to be on the first day, alright?" Iginla said, cracking a smile. "Way better."
But Iginla's overall message was him expressing his gratitude towards the community that cheered him on for so many years.
"Thank you so much Calgary for embracing me for 16 years, as an 18-year-old, and even though I'm from Edmonton nobody ever held it against me," Iginla joked.
One of the greatest of all time. #ThankYouIggy pic.twitter.com/VRTA0ykV7k
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) July 25, 2018
During his remarks, Iginla thanked both the skilled players he played with (including Conroy, Gelinas, Daymond Langkow and Alex Tanguay) and the team's past enforcers (such as Sandy McCarthy, Chris Simon and Krzysztof Oliwa). He cited a hip injury suffered during his tenure in Colorado as one of the main contributing factors to his decision to retire.
Iginla credited a late invitation to Team Canada's orientation camp in the summer of 2001 for giving him the confidence in his game that took him to the next level. That invitation was followed by the best offensive start to his season, to that point. A gold medal-winning trip to the 2002 Winter Olympics and an Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's scoring leader soon followed.
Flames vice-chairman and CEO Ken King shied away from making definitive statements, but alluded to plans to further honour Iginla this season.
"We don't want to preempt ourselves on the honours that will follow, but based on today I think I can safely tell you we're thinking about a 41-game salute, Jarome. We'll see you later this year," King said.
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The Flames organization has two retired numbers - Lanny McDonald's 9 and Mike Vernon's 30 - and two others honoured in their Forever A Flame program - Al McInnis' 2 and Joe Nieuwendyk's 25. It's safe to say that the debate won't be if to honour Iginla's legacy with the Flames, but figuring out the most appropriate manner in which to do so. No Flames player has worn Iginla's number 12 sweater since his 2013 departure.
Iginla retires as the Flames' all-time leader in games played, goals and points. In 1,554 career games with the Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings he amassed 625 goals and 1,300 points. He also captured Olympic gold medals with Team Canada at the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics. He becomes eligible for Hall of Fame induction in 2020.