First of all – I am SHAMELESSLY stealing a post from Octothorp:
click to read thread and post from 2009, or continue to read here for the same post but updated as of today.
I feel this is an appropriate time to reflect on the insight of Octothorp’s original post. I got thinking about this post most recently when there was the Iginla vs. Sakic debate. I don’t want to get into that, but I just want to acknowledge what a special player Jarome is, and how he truly is one of the greatest goal scorers of his generation. Octothorp’s post, updated here, illustrates that very well.
Before I get to the post, I just want to say that Jarome Iginla is my favorite player of all time. I doubt I will see another player like him play for the Flames in my lifetime. I am proud to say that I was at the Dome when he scored his first goal ever as a Flame (playoffs against Chicago). I am also proud to say that I have seen nearly every one of his 525 goals since then (plus playoff goals, although not nearly enough of these).
If you think about it, the more you will realize that 'active goal-scoring leader' is a very statistically significant title that doesn't get a lot of coverage.
It's important as a way of establishing players who were the best goal scorers of their generation. Anyone who can reach this point has displayed a better combination of longevity and production than any of his peers. And the earlier the age that someone reaches the title and the longer they hold on to it, the better it reflects on them.
However, I couldn't find any complete list of players who held the active goal-scoring title, so I endeavoured to make up my own:
Going back to the retirement of Maurice Richard, the following players have held the active goal-scoring leader title:
Name (year captured, event, goals when captured, age when captured)
Gordie Howe (1960, on Maurice Richard's retirement, 446 goals, age 32)
Bobby Hull (1970, on Gordie Howe's retirement, 468 goals, age 31)
Phil Esposito (1979, on Bobby Hull's retirement, 676 goals, age 37)
Marcel Dionne (1981, on Esposito's retirement, 438, age 30),
Wayne Gretzky (1987, on Dionne's retirement, 587 goals, age 26)
Mark Messier (1999, on Wayne Gretzky's retirement, 610 goals, age 38)
Steve Yzerman (2000, tied with Messier, 627 goals, age 35)
Brett Hull (2001, on passing Yzerman and Messier, 649 goals, age 37)
Luc Robitaille (2005, on Hull's retirement, 653 goals, age 40)
Brendan Shanahan (2006, on Robitaille's retirement, 598 goals, age 37)
Jaromir Jagr (2007, on passing Shanahan, approx 627 goals, age 35)
Brendan Shanahan (2008, on Jagr's retirement, 650, age 39)
Teemu Salaane (2009, on Shanahan’s retirement, 579, age 38)
Jaromir Jagr (2011, upon returning to the NHL, 646, age 39)
(There would likely have been some back-and-forth between Messier/Yzerman/Hull during 1999-2001; and Jagr/Shanahan during 06; and possibly even between Salaane/Jagr during 11/12 - I'm not going to go through game-by-game, I'm just looking at year-end stats)
Now, the interesting thing is looking forward. Who might be next to get the title? There is no question that it will be Jarome Iginla
Iginla - 1995 draft class – 525 (Age 35)
Just take a moment and consider the company Jarome Iginla will be in when he takes his place as reigning, active goal-scoring leader.
What’s more, if Salaane and Jagr retire at the end of this season, he will do it at the same age (35) that Steve Yzerman and Jaromir Jagr did it, and younger than Messier, Hull, and Shanahan did it. I think that's a pretty significant feat for our captain.
On the other hand, he'll likely reach this milestone with the lowest total of any titleholder since Marcel Dionne.
What’s more is that he is likely to hold this position for several years. The only players remotely close to him are Hossa (draft class 1997, 430 goals), Alfredsson (draft class 1994, 424 goals), Kovalchuk (draft class 2001, 416 goals), Marleau (draft class 97, 402 goals), and Lecavalier (draft class 1998, 380 goals).
The difficult thing is extrapolating numbers forward, but if he continues to produce at even a rate like 20 goals per year over the next five years, he'll be trending to 600 career goals. While Lecavalier or Hossa or Kovalchuk might reach that total for their career, it's almost unthinkable that either of them would do so at a rate that would allow them to catch Iginla, allowing him to hold that title of current active goal-scoring leader for 4, 5, or even 6 years, depending on how long he chooses to play. Again, he could be the fifth or fourth-longest active goal-scoring leader since Richard.
He’s quite literally one of the best ever. I’m going to miss him playing for my team. Go win that elusive Stanley Cup!
And Go Flames Go!!!
