- [Narrator] Jarome Iginla could play the game
any way that he wanted.
He was a prototypical power forward
with a howitzer of a shot
that helped establish him as a perennial goal scorer.
Iginla could unleash that just as quick
as he'd barrel straight through an opponent
or dish the puck to an open teammate
with pinpoint accuracy.
Over a 20 year NHL career, he scored and fought
and led his teams with an infectious determination.
Everything Iginla did was done with consistency.
The scoring, the assists,
he twice netted 50 goals in a season.
Twice earned Rocket Richard trophies.
Was named league MVP by his peers.
And alongside a crowded trophy case,
Iginla finished his Flames tenure
scrawled throughout the franchise record book.
By the numbers alone, he's among the legends of the game.
And this doesn't take into account
the gold medals he brought to Team Canada.
He was an absolute force, a goal-scoring wrecking ball,
one of the greatest to ever play the game.
But when he hung up his skates,
he did so having never hoisted the Cup.
So how did Jerome Iginla finish his career untitled?
We'll start with an obvious statement:
hockey is very much a team sport.
That's why greats like Ray Bourque and Alexander Ovechkin
came oh so close themselves to this unfortunate fraternity.
But that also means championship opportunities
can come from less expected sources.
Iginla made his professional debut
directly on the championship path.
But the fact that the 1996 Flames eagerly welcomed
an 18-year old who not only played the previous night
but arrived in Calgary 90 minutes before puck drop,
they needed some help.
While he alone couldn't prevent the sweep,
Iginla's two points in two games earned him some praise.
His coach came away impressed,
but despite having a lack of imagination,
he'd be correct for now.
This would be Iginla's only taste of the playoffs
for another eight years.
But it's a stretch of time that only made
what's to come even more spectacular.
Operating in a small Canadian market in the '90s was tough.
With a weakened Canadian dollar,
no luxury tax, limited revenue sharing,
team finances drastically impacted rosters.
Putting their personal finances aside,
ownership struggled to justify retaining talent.
Even when it was someone like Theo Fleury,
Calgary's all time leading scorer.
He wanted to stay, but Fleury knew the reality
of the situation.
And in hopes of getting anything in return,
Calgary shipped off the last remnant
of their 1989 Cup-winning team.
The reason this specific deal is worth mentioning
is that not only did Iginla's chances take a hit
when he lost an extremely talented teammate,
it was also a beacon illuminating
the dire straights in Calgary.
How could there be hope that the Flames
wouldn't let Iginla bolt at his first opportunity
for greener pastures?
It was a cycle of talent that forced
the most optimistic to believe in luck.
But as the faces around him changed,
Iginla entered his prime.
Following his first 30-goal campaign,
Iginla led the league in 2002.
His connection with Craig Conroy
gave them a one-two punch on offense.
And while the team struggled to translate that into wins,
the Flames found a coach who would make sure
Iginla's efforts didn't go to waste.
Darryl Sutter's name was synonymous with playoffs,
which excited Iginla.
While it wouldn't happen that year,
April still provided a spark for their future.
Sutter was named GM in addition to his coaching duties.
And he quickly set out to remake the Flames.
The results were immediate,
but possibly even more painful.
Sutter turned over a third of the roster,
focusing on a bigger, tougher group
to battle their way into the playoffs.
The remodel led to internal optimism
and Iginla made the team's expectations pretty clear.
But the start to the 2003-2004 season
looked all too familiar.
Six wins in their first 16 games,
plus an injury to Calgary's starting goaltender,
meant Sutter had work to do.
He traded for the goalie who was backing up
the back up in San Jose.
Miikka Kiprusoff had been a well regarded prospect,
but his pro career had just gotten off to a slow start.
With a change of scenery,
things didn't just click, though.
Kiprusoff turned in an all time great season,
an NHL record goals against average
was a far cry from what the Flames allowed
over the first seven seasons of Iginla's career.
So when Iginla once again led the league in goals,
the wins piled up.
They were the stars of a team who had
bought into Sutter's mindset, hard-nosed, defense oriented,
each piece working together
with their captain paving the way.
And while the monumental task of just reaching
the playoffs was achieved, Iginla wanted to make some noise.
It began against their division winner in Vancouver.
Iginla gave Calgary two shots at advancing
with a game five game winner.
Then when pushed to the brink in double overtime
of game seven, Iginla fired a shot
that Martin Gelinas followed up on to take the series.
For the first time since claiming the Cup in 1989,
the Flames made it out of the opening round.
Their prize, the Presidents' Trophy winning Red Wings.
But that turned out not to mean much.
Kiprusoff shut Detroit out in games five and six.
And Iginla put one on net in overtime,
which rebounded its way to Gelinas,
who again put the series away.
They had an even easier time in the Conference Final
as Iginla continued his tear.
Having faced three division champs,
Calgary made a miracle run straight into
the Stanley Cup Final.
All that was left, was to get past the Lightning.
The series started in familiar fashion for Calgary.
The teams traded the first two.
Iginla had a Gordie Howe hat trick
in their game three shut out.
Then the Lightning evened the series up at two a piece.
That game four loss for the Flames
had a bit more to it, though.
Nikolai Khabibulin turned in a great performance
for the Bolts, but the guy Calgary faithful
were talking about afterwards was the ref.
In their eyes, Kerry Fraser was wildly inconsistent
and gifted Tampa a two man advantage
which led to the night's lone goal.
It continued in the third when Craig Conroy
was either hooked or took a dive,
but either way Fraser swallowed his whistle.
Then late as the Flames scrambled to even it up,
Ville Nieminen boarded Vincent Lecavalier.
Fraser, who was right there, didn't call anything.
But from across the ice his partner Brad Watson
raised his arm for what they decided to be a major,
leaving Calgary short handed the rest of the way,
essentially killing all hope of a comeback.
Sutter didn't see the case for anything more
than a two-minute penalty.
And when Nieminen, one of Calgary's top defensemen,
was suspended for the hit his coach called it
part of a league conspiracy against the Flames.
But while the players agreed
the penalty shouldn't have been a major,
Iginla also pointed out that they were unhappy
with more than just the officiating.
Going against a goalie who was locked in,
they didn't take advantage of the chances they got.
All in all, it left Iginla feeling
more disappointed than he was used to.
But game five helped make up for things.
The Flames once again found themselves in overtime,
and Iginla once again set up the game winner
to guarantee Calgary two shots at hoisting the Cup.
While the team was excited, Iginla remained realistic
about what was in store.
Even if he forgot the Flames penchant
for needing more than just 60 minutes.
But in the third period of a tight game six
it looked like they'd end it in regulation.
As Gelinas rushed the net,
he used his skate to direct the puck
at the pads of Khabibulin.
In a bang-bang play, the puck shot out
and everyone carried on.
But it was far closer than anyone on the ice realized.
With the cleanest angle, one could make the case
that the puck was in.
But there was no stoppage, no review,
and no more scoring until a second overtime.
Tampa's goal counted and forced a game seven.
The Flames' reactions ranged from
Sutter electing not to dwell on it,
to Iginla feeling bummed, but if they missed it,
they missed it, to Nieminen who, well,
felt very certain the Flames should have
won the Cup right there.
But even though the potential Cup-winning goal
wasn't reviewed, Iginla unsurprisingly
looked at the brighter side.
Game seven to win it all was something special.
It was also exhausting.
It marked a record 26th playoff game
in the span of 61 days.
They'd seen seven of their first 25 go to overtime,
one to double, another to triple.
They were banged up, running on fumes,
and with it all on the line, Calgary came out flat.
The Flames managed just three shots
in the opening period.
And didn't reach double digits
until there was less than ten to play.
So when the Lightning went up two,
it felt insurmountable.
Conroy cut the deficit in half,
and Calgary found some extra juice to run on,
but it wouldn't be enough.
Calgary's miracle ride came to a disappointing end.
Iginla was left to reflect on his inability
to get it done for Calgary when they had a chance
to win it all.
Held without a shot in game seven,
it was going to sting a while, understandably so.
But he had the support of an entire city.
And his mother put what Calgary was feeling best,
this team would be back.
It felt like this was just the beginning.
Their defense of the Western Conference
got off to a rough start.
A lockout spoiled any chance at momentum,
and on top of that Calgary once again
had to watch players capitalize on their success.
Those who departed were replaced with aging free agents,
but that's only to say this team was different.
Once hockey came back in 2005,
Kipruosff continued his excellent play.
And one of the new faces gave hope for their future.
Iginla again led the way in scoring
and proved their Cinderella run wasn't a fluke
with an even better regular season record.
As the three seed, they were a favorite
to represent the West once again.
Just like old times, in the opening round
the Flames swapped wins with the Ducks.
Iginla put together a game four comeback
with an impressive two-goal third,
but Calgary couldn't finish it off in overtime.
As the series went along,
an ongoing injury finally shelved
Jean Sebastien Giguere and facing Ilya Bryzgalov in net,
the Flames struggled down the stretch.
Despite again having two shots to close it out,
Calgary's offense couldn't find its rhythm.
They managed a single goal across games six and seven.
Iginla again fell quiet.
After five goals through the first five contests,
he managed just one shot in each of the final two games.
And their season ended with a shut out.
What made that early exit even more painful
was every opening round match up in their conference
was won by the lower seed.
A potentially easier path to the final was missed.
Then a second blow came when the man
who gave Iginla his best chance at a Cup,
stepped down as coach.
Although Sutter remained in Calgary as GM,
the front office couldn't keep the Flames
from coming out flat a year later.
They did what they could to resuscitate
an up and down '06-'07 season,
like bringing back Iginla's old center.
But in a very competitive Western Conference,
they dropped to the eighth seed.
Offensively outmatched by Detroit,
Iginla did what he could to even up the series,
but couldn't do it all himself.
Despite scoring Calgary's lone goal in game six,
Detroit held Iginla to two shots
in a game requiring double overtime.
That result added to an ongoing theme.
Even a year later when the offense around Iginla picked up,
and Calgary pushed a superior Shark's team to seven games,
they couldn't recapture the magic of 2004.
Against Chicago in 2009, back to back blow outs
capped off what would be the final playoff appearance
Iginla made as a Flame.
After reaching the Final against Tampa,
they failed to win another playoff series.
Sutter had helped Calgary find talent
to surround Iginla with.
Iginla did an amazing job
making those around him even better.
But these teams went wherever their captain went.
And as early exits turned into playoff misses all together,
Iginla's future was elsewhere.
His name was scrawled throughout Calgary's list of records
after 16 years with the franchise.
But it was time for some change.
And that meant time to chase Cups.
Just two years removed from another 40-plus goal season,
Iginla was a highly sought piece for teams making a run.
As the 2013 trade deadline approached,
for a moment everyone was convinced
Iginla would join an already stacked Boston team.
But the even more stacked Penguins swooped in.
Pittsburgh was on a 13-game winning streak.
They were favorites to win the Cup.
Iginla could play alongside some fellow
future Hall of Famers.
So Pittsburgh won him over, and the decision looked good.
He helped bolster what became the league's top offense.
The Penguins easily cruised
to the conference's best record.
Iginla reached the playoffs for the first time
in four years, but more importantly,
represented just part of a juggernaut.
In their opening round, Pittsburgh's offense
bulldozed the Islanders,
while the defense notched a pair of shut outs.
It went even smoother against the Senators
as they closed things out in five
with some massive displays of firepower.
And that led to not only Iginla's second appearance
in the conference finals, but a chance to play
the team he spurned.
It didn't start great.
The Penguins were shut out on their home ice.
But having scored 13 goals in their two previous games,
there wasn't much concern.
Eliminate mistakes, keep takings shots,
hope for friendlier posts.
Iginla was confident they'd right the ship.
But two nights later, they were never even in the game.
Boston scored 28 seconds in, and didn't look back.
Pittsburgh's top offense struggled,
at one point going more than 12 minutes between shots.
While Iginla focused on the team
needing to bring the fire he knew they had,
Boston focused on not letting anyone forget
what could have been.
But Pittsburgh found that fire
and had their best game yet.
After using Iginla on the left side,
he was moved back to the right wing
where he'd spent most of his career.
It helped as they found their lanes
and peppered Tuukka Rask with 54 shots.
But only one made it past the Boston goalie.
Power plays had fueled Pittsburgh through
the first two rounds, but in game three
they came up empty on six attempts.
On a night where Boston's offense
also had little left in the tank,
the netminders stole the show
and dragged things into a second overtime.
The Bruins ended it there.
Despite being in a serious hole,
the Pens continued to lean into the fact
that they were getting chances
that could have fallen the other way.
That mentality was held despite Iginla,
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, all being kept off
the series scoresheet.
This was the same team to average over four goals per game
in the opening rounds.
But once again with the series on the line,
you wouldn't have known it.
Pittsburgh managed to hold the Bruin's offense
largely in check but Boston got all they needed.
Rask gloved Iginla's last second shot
to complete the sweep.
A fitting end to a series dominated by the Bruin's goalie.
He had shut the Penguins out
for the final 127 minutes of the series.
On what had been the most talented team
of Iginla's career, he was left with little to say.
His could have been teammates on their way to the Final
had a few more thoughts,
like using Iginla's decision as motivation.
But after watching Boston reach the final,
Iginla got a do-over in free agency.
And it didn't seem like anyone held a grudge.
Just like in Pittsburgh, this was a perfect fit.
He stepped into the first line
and put up his 12th 30-goal season.
With an offense and defense near the top of the league,
plus the top record in the league,
on paper the 2014 Bruins looked like
Iginla's best shot yet.
But rivalries throw everything out the window.
And after a fairly easy opening round against Detroit,
Boston had to deal with their best friends from Montreal.
Game one showed what fireworks these teams were capable of.
Montreal carried a two goal lead into the third,
but Boston managed not one, but two,
comebacks in the final period to force overtime.
With a pair of evenly matched teams,
it took a penalty to shift the balance
back in Montreal's direction.
It set a tone for a competitive series.
Although Boston again failed to finish the comeback
following a slow start to game three,
after wins in games two and four, they came out firing.
Iginla scored what would be the game winner
that set the Bruins up with two chances to advance.
And in their first try, Iginla rattled off ten
of the Bruins' 63 shot attempts.
Trouble was, none of them went in,
whether from Iginla's stick or anyone else's.
The Bruins were blanked and had a fair share
of missed calls to complain about after the fact.
But it was the larger missed opportunity
that would be more frustrating.
Forced into a game seven against a rival,
Boston again came out slow.
Iginla tipped in a shot by Torey Krug
to cut Montreal's lead in half.
But it was all Boston could muster.
They didn't look like the team
that had won 54 games in the regular season.
Montreal capitalized on Boston's mistakes,
like a failed clear that led to Habs' goal
barely two minutes into the game.
It fell on no one in particular.
Those final two losses were a team effort.
But instead of a return to the Final,
they headed to an off season
filled with questions about the roster.
That would be the last playoff appearance for Jarome.
Boston's cap situation led him to join Colorado,
which looked like a better opportunity than what it became.
His last few years added some milestones
to his collection, then Iginla's career
wound down with the Kings.
Hardware littered his time in the league.
But Iginla fell short of the ultimate prize.
When he left Calgary, George Johnson wrote
for the Herald that, "Iginla departed
as the most luminous legend this town has seen."
Instead of opting to chase Cups in his prime,
Iginla gave everything he had to Calgary.
It's easy to imagine what that would have meant
with a different organization.
But at the same time, the Flames were what forced Iginla
to find his version of greatness.
His legacy is defined by so many things,
both on and off the ice.
He came immeasurably close to winning a Stanley Cup.
Decisions worked against him,
droughts filled more of his career than is fair,
and honestly, none of that matters.
Jarome Iginla finished his career untitled
and still goes down as one of the greatest
to ever play the game.