Keeping The Fire Alive: A Look Back At Calgary's Love Affair With Jarome Iginla

Calgary is Jarome Iginla's city.

The Flames captain, who has played his entire NHL career with the team, has become Calgary's unofficial hero since he made his debut as an 18-year old right-winger, thrust into the spotlight in the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks. As the youngest player to skate for the Flames since 1983, Iginla made a shining impression on the city of Calgary, and 14 years later, he continues to shine in the eyes of Calgarians. Iginla is a homegrown Albertan boy, born to a Nigerian father and an American mother. It was the success of his hometown team,the Edmonton Oilers, that drove the youngster to pursue his dreams of becoming an NHL superstar. He began playing hockey as a goaltender, inspired by the Oilers' black goalie Grant Fuhr. But for the emerging leader in the young Iginla, minding the net was simply not exciting enough. He switched to the forward position after 2 years. In 1992, Iginla began his organized hockey career in the small town of St. Albert, Alberta, where he led the Alberta Midget Hockey League in scoring. As a 15-year old, he wowed scouts with an impressive 87-point season.


After 3 years with the WHL's Kamloops Blazers, Iginla was drafted first round, 11th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars. In one quick trade, the Calgary Flames acquired their future most prized posession, and in the years to come, the Dallas Stars were left to wonder what their franchise could have been with Iginla on their side. The first couple of years as a Flame came with many ups and downs for Iginla. Among the highs were a spot on the NHL All-Star Rookie team, as well as becoming the runner-up for the Calder Memorial Trophy. The lows came in the form of contract complications. The Flames had not anticipated such success to come with the acquisition of the young player. Iginla had to make some sacrifices in order to remain on the roster, attending training camp without a contract and purchasing his own insurance to relieve the team of financial responsibility for any injuries that might occur. His sacrifices paid off. The following year, Iginla signed a contract with the Flames worth $4.9 million US, and reached his career high with 29 goals and 63 points. Iginla's reputation was on the rise in Calgary. The following 2 seasons saw him top each previous career high . By 2002 he nearly doubled his goal output and was awarded both the Lester B. Pearson Award and the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. It was also the year Iginla truly wielded the Midas touch, winning gold as a part of Team Canada at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.


Following this outstanding year, the club decided to bestow upon Iginla the team captaincy. And he didn't disappoint. Almost 6 years before, he had donned a Flames jersey for the first time and skated with the team during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now with the prestigious "C" stitched over his heart, Iginla took it a little further, leading the Flames all the way to the finals. The 2004 cup run engulfed the city in a Flames frenzy that hadn't been seen since 1989. Calgary's 17th Avenue became the famous "Red Mile", the street filled from end to end with swaying, screaming bodies clad in red. Though the Flames lost the Cup to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a nail-biting Game 7, their fans didn't relinquish their adoration for their brand new captain. In fact, 2004 was the year the people of Calgary began to see Jarome Iginla as their king; their saviour on skates.

Iginla and his Flames weren't able to match the success they enjoyed in 2004. The years ahead saw the team get eliminated either in the second or first round of the playoffs. Each season noticeably lacked the passion and intensity that was present in the earlier part of the decade. Despite this, Iginla remained loved. In 2009, his value to the city of Calgary was expressed melodically by a fan, who wrote a tribute to the Flames captain to the tune of the Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah." The VIDEO, which featured a bobblehead Iginla performing various acts of heroism around Calgary, went viral on YouTube. Unfortunately, the 2009-2010 season was not a good one for the Flames. They struggled throughout the season and went through many drastic changes within the roster. Flames fans began to worry that Iginla had lost his love for the game. He wasn't demonstrating the type of leadership he ought to as captain, and his goal production was decreasing every year. It was every Calgarian hockey lover's biggest fear: was the fire in Iginla's heart burning out?



In February 2010, Vancouver, British Columbia became the setting for the Olympic Winter Games. It came as no surprise that Iginla was named one of Team Canada's assistant captains, along with Chris Pronger and the NHL's poster child Sidney Crosby. From the very beginning, Iginla was explosive on the ice. During their first game against Norway, he contributed to the 8-0 win with a hat trick. And it was his ASSIST, delivered from the seat of his pants against the boards, that gave Crosby the opportunity to sweep the puck between Team USA's goalie Ryan Miller, winning the gold for the host country. Undoubtedly, Iginla shone at the Olympics. But his return to the NHL was less impressive. For the first time in 5 years, the Flames failed to place in the 2009-2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As the hockey season came to an end, panic began to ensue among Flames fans. There were rumours that Iginla was unhappy with his tenure with the team, or that he was to be traded, as the club's management was in desperate need of some change in order to strengthen the team. The rumour lingered for several months, and the inevitable question began to creep into Calgarians' minds: who could possibly replace Jarome Iginla as the Flames' beloved leader? The dreaded question was answered on May 26th bu the man himself. In a televised interview, Iginla assured his loyal fanbase that he intended to stay in Calgary for as long as the city would have him. Darryl Sutter seconded that by saying that he had never had any plans to trade off Calgary's favorite leading man.

At the age of 33, Jarome Iginla has lived his entire adult life as a Flame, a veritable hockey god to the city. He was born in the city of Edmonton, Calgary's greatest rival, whose team has so often faced off against the Flames in what has come to be called "The Battle of Alberta", but Iginla has shown that he is truly a Calgarian at heart. He has come oh-so-close to raising Lord Stanley but has never felt the satisfaction of bringing home hockey's most coveted trophy.

But, resilient as ever, Iginla expresses his optimism for the season ahead, and so do his devoted fans.