I want to thank Jarome for everything I did for the Calgary Flames in all these years. It was truly an honour to have such a classy player as the face of "my" franchise for such a long time. I will continue to worship the #12 horsehead jersey (I don't care what everybody says, that jersey was awesome ) and I am looking forward to see Jarome's number getting retired at some point down the road.
Oh captain, my captain ... all the best for the future!!!!!
Iggy was arguably the best Flame ever and it was great to have been able to see his time here...hope for nothing but the best and really hope he is back in the summer.
Go win that cup, Jarome. You deserve it, and you deserve line mates like Crosby & Malkin to bring out the best of your game in the twilight years of your careers.
I'll never forget being at your first game against the Blackhawks in the playoffs, setting up Theo Fleury for your first assist & NHL point. The jumbotron panned to your mom you sat in the next section & I remember the pride on her face that her son had made it to the pros.
It was another 4 or 5 years before you started flying high. You were one of those players that changed the entire dynamic of the game when you came on the ice. Your leadership & physical play & clever positioning down low against the boards was the apex of good hockey, pre-2004 lockout. What a monster you were against all those stacked teams in the cup run. I've never seen anything like it. You were our General & our bright shining hope. Today is a sad day.
Of all the hockey memories there is still one thing that is somewhat different that stands out for me - he is the guy who got my wife interested in the game.
My wife and I got married in Seoul in the summer and came to Calgary for a winter reception so to speak...and my father was able to get two tix to the Toronto game in early January. My wife had hardly seen any hockey at all but after a period and a half she asked specifically "who is number 12" - he just stood out that much. From that point on she has become a huge Flames fan and an even bigger Iginla fan (and is already planning her new jersey).
So thanks Iggy for being awesome and letting me enjoy the games with my wife yelling (she goes nuts!) at my side.
I am still pissed at myself for not going to talk to him in the owners (?) box on the second open practice day. My wife would have loved a picture hehe.
What a player. He absolutely owned the Wild, but was always so darn classy about it.
I once saw him and some of the boys at the bar in Peter Luger's on LI (waiting for our tables) and wish to this day that I'd introduced myself to him.
And, while I'm at it, I have a lot of respect for you Flames fans in general. You've always made me feel welcome here, and I come here because I continue to read some of the most informed hockey opinions out there. The Flames are an easy team to root for from where I'm sitting and that has a lot to do with players like Iginla and fans like you.
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My fondest memory of Iggy off the ice was at the Team Canada training camp in Calgary in 2001, ahead of the SLC Olympics. Iggy was a last minute invite for Canada and at the first practice at Father David Bauer he was also last arrive. Despite being slightly late, he didn't enter the arena until he had signed an autograph for all the fans waiting. No one else signed as many autographs, and in fact the only other guys to sign any autographs at all were Gretzky, Lemieux, Pronger and Smyth.
Of course, as we all know Iggy made the team and was instrumental in winning Canada its first gold medal in 50 years. He also paid for the last remaining hotel room in SLC for some of my friends from school who had driven down for the Olympics and were sleeping in their car.
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Shot down in Flames!
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Definitely my favorite player of all time. I can't wait to see him back in the playoffs. There was a time in my life when I considered Iggy my hero. He was just absolutely awesome and was a great guy. Just a model of everything good in a person. The last thing I wanted was to see him end his career on a languishing team that was tarnishing his image. That's not a problem anymore. Now I get to see him right back in the thick of it where I think he'll thrive and build another stage in his legacy. I can't wait to see him back to chasing the dream.
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"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"
) and I am looking forward to see Jarome's number getting retired at some point down the road.
