Iginla to retire after 20 NHL seasons

Iginla has scheduled a news conference for Monday in Calgary, where he played
parts of 16 seasons. In all, he played 20 seasons in the NHL, registering 625
goals, 675 assists, 1,300 points and 1,040 penalty minutes in 1,554 games.

"In a sense, I grew up there," Iginla told the Flames' website in an interview
published Wednesday. "I started playing for the Flames at 19, but even in
minor hockey I remember traveling to Calgary for tournaments, from St. Albert,
and I imagined playing in the Saddledome.

"It's been a fun adventure for my family and I. Some great cities, great
people. To be back in Alberta, though, will feel like home."

Iginla, 41, did not play in the NHL last season after appearing in a combined
80 games with the Colorado Avalanche and the Los Angeles Kings in 2016-17.

He played in Calgary from 1996 to 2013 and made six All-Star appearances. He
was the NHL's leading goal-scorer in 2001-02 and 2003-04, and he remains the
Calgary franchise leader in games played, goals, points, even-strength goals
(351), power-play goals (161) and game-winning goals (83).

Iginla was the 11th overall pick in the 1995 draft, selected by Dallas and
traded to Calgary, and made his NHL debut in the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs. He
was runner-up for the Calder Trophy as top rookie in 1997.

Iginla never won a Stanley Cup, coming closest when the Flames lost to the
Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 in the 2004 finals.

"For sure, it took me a while to just let it go, losing," he said. "From seven
years of missing the playoffs to almost winning it. And it does still sting a
little bit. I've always dreamt of being on a Stanley Cup-winning team. That
always stayed with me. I know now that dream isn't coming true.

"If you said when I started that I was going to play 20 years, experience what
I have, I'd have taken it in a heartbeat. I did the best I could, played as
hard as I could. And all my dreams came true, more than I ever could've
imagined, except that one dream.

"It just wasn't in the cards for me."

In 2013, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he signed a free agent
deal with the Boston Bruins in 2014.

--Field Level Media