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Iginla has scheduled a news conference for
Monday in Calgary, where he played parts of 16 seasons. In all,
he played 20 seasons in the NHL, registering 625 goals, 675
assists, 1,300 points and 1,040 penalty minutes in 1,554 games.
"In a sense, I grew up there," Iginla told the Flames' website
in an interview published Wednesday. "I started playing for the
Flames at 19, but even in minor hockey I remember traveling to
Calgary for tournaments, from St. Albert, and I imagined playing
in the Saddledome.
"It's been a fun adventure for my family and I. Some great
cities, great people. To be back in Alberta, though, will feel
like home."
Iginla, 41, did not play in the NHL last season after appearing
in a combined 80 games with the Colorado Avalanche and the Los
Angeles Kings in 2016-17.
He played in Calgary from 1996 to 2013 and made six All-Star
appearances. He was the NHL's leading goal-scorer in 2001-02 and
2003-04, and he remains the Calgary franchise leader in games
played, goals, points, even-strength goals (351), power-play
goals (161) and game-winning goals (83).
Iginla was the 11th overall pick in the 1995 draft, selected by
Dallas and traded to Calgary, and made his NHL debut in the 1996
Stanley Cup playoffs. He was runner-up for the Calder Trophy as
top rookie in 1997.
Iginla never won a Stanley Cup, coming closest when the Flames
lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 in the 2004 finals.
"For sure, it took me a while to just let it go, losing," he
said. "From seven years of missing the playoffs to almost
winning it. And it does still sting a little bit. I've always
dreamt of being on a Stanley Cup-winning team. That always
stayed with me. I know now that dream isn't coming true.
"If you said when I started that I was going to play 20 years,
experience what I have, I'd have taken it in a heartbeat. I did
the best I could, played as hard as I could. And all my dreams
came true, more than I ever could've imagined, except that one
dream.
"It just wasn't in the cards for me."
In 2013, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he signed
a free agent deal with the Boston Bruins in 2014.
--Field Level Media
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