Color me surprised that two of the old timers on here (Jiri and Bingo) have Iginla outside of the top 2. I have read their reasons and they certainly have merit but it is kind of like having a poll on all time greatest toothpaste and putting Crest outside of the top 2. Of course there are no right or wrong answers on this but it is a fun debate.
I agree with all of the questions surrounding Iginla's leadership at the end of his tenure but to me there are two gigantic factors you both are underweighting:
1) We simply can't see much of what a captain does. As a result it is natural to link elements of the teams performance to the captain and leader. But for the things we can directly see - performance on the ice, public leader etc. Well Lanny and Iginla simply did this at a superb level for far longer than anyone else on the list.
2) Although not totally fair, I feel the team's performance needs to be great during the captain's tenure to qualify as an all time great captain. Sadly the Flames history is a little short of accomplishments outside of 86,89 and 04. I know McDonald shared the captaincy in 86 and 89, but I'm not putting Pepper, Hunter or Risebrough on this list.
Lanny's sweater hangs from the rafters. Iginla's will one day. Both will end up in the HOF based significantly on their accomplishments while captain of the Calgary Flames. They are top two, in a category of their own, in my mind.
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