Captaincy is the most overrated aspect in pro sports. It is ridiculous the amount of pressure fans put on these players to single handedly lead a team to glory. The fact is you need a group of players that will step up and take the bull by the horns, and for the most part that has been missing here in Calgary during Iginla's tenure. The man can only do so much for this team (especially at the age of 35), yet he is still out there leading the team in shots on goal and assists, is third on the team in hits, and is actually the best option in the faceoff circle that we currently have.
Yes, he has 1 goal on the season but do you honestly expect him to shoot at a 1.8% clip for the remainder of the season? One good night can change everyone's perspective of the man around this place. It is truly annoying.
You can say he has had a strong supporting cast at times but I don't buy it one bit.
Look at the past few Stanley cup champions, and tell me with a straight face that he has ever had such a luxury.
Anze Kopitar had Dustin Brown, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty supporting him.
Zdeno Chara had Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin supporting him.
Jonathan Toews had Marrian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Partick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd supporting him.
Sidney Crosby had Evgeni Malkin (enough said), Jordan Staal and Kris Letang.
The list goes on and on.
Jarome Iginla has never had a legitimate star talent to support him. Not once. Mike Cammalleri, Alex Tanguay, and Dion Phaneuf are the closest thing he has had to a decent supporting cast. They are all good players, but certainly not difference makers.
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