‘Welcome home, kid’: Iggy exits with a touch of class
A vision in a dark grey suit, a crisp white shirt and a million-dollar smile that made him one of the most likable people in this city, Jarome Iginla showed up late for his own party on Monday.
It wasn’t on purpose. He probably would have apologized if given the opportunity.
But the 41-year-old couldn’t move an inch in the Chrysler Club at the Scotiabank Saddledome without stopping to hug, exchange a few words, or shake someone’s hand.
Iginla, classy as ever, was determined to say goodbye properly this time.
“Welcome home, kid,” Calgary Flames president and CEO Ken King said, with a wink.
He was introduced to the folks assembled at the Saddledome by Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Peter Maher, the former play-by-play radio voice who shared memories of the player Iginla was, the goals he scored, the fights he witnessed (“I think he won them all. At least he did on the radio,” Maher deadpanned).
The legendary Calgary Flames captain was saluted (and roasted) by his old pals Craig Conroy and Martin Gelinas who had the entire room reminiscing and reflecting on a 20-year National Hockey League career that began with a heckuva debut with the Flames back in the 1996 playoffs.
The tribute on the day that he formally retired from the NHL was fitting, humorous, happy and sad, all rolled into one.
“I got a call about (Iginla’s decision to retire) and he said he was just going to put a press release out,” Conroy, Iginla’s former linemate, explained. “Thank God he didn’t put a press release out because it would have taken away from all of this. But that’s what he is, he’s humble. Everything he does behind the scenes, giving back to the community with his time, financially, helping people. That’s just the way he always was.”
Gelinas spoke about Iginla’s effortless class, how he’d be shaking his hands and signing autographs during the Flames’ improbable 2004 Stanley Cup playoff run, long after other players had gone home.
When asked about the nicest player he’s ever played with, the Flames current assistant coach joked that he has to say Conroy because “he’s my boss” but the entire room knew the answer.
“We needed someone to get that spark going, to give us that belief,” Gelinas said. “For that whole (’04) playoff run, Jarome gave us that belief that with a big hit, with a goal, with dropping the gloves, with a big talk in the dressing room. He gave us that belief that we could win every game and every shift. “I’m grateful for that.” Flanked by his wife Kara and daughter, Jade, on his right, and sons Joe and Tij on his left, the entire room, city, and Flames fans around the world were simply grateful for the opportunity for a proper farewell, rather than a hastily thrown together news conference like the one back in the spring of 2013 when he made his emotional exit from the organization. It was a trade from Calgary to the Pittsburgh Penguins that needed to happen at the time. But one that most fans never truly came to grips with. Iginla would always be a Flame, plain and simple.
“It would have been easier to just, you know, maybe not have to do a speech,” said the St. Albert native, to a roar of laughter. “But after thinking about it, I was so excited to be here and with my family, to share it with everybody. To come back to the city of Calgary to say thank you. This is home. To come back to Alberta. This is a great organization, the Calgary Flames, and I had so many great memories here.
“Thank you so much for embracing me as an 18-year-old when I came to the organization and the city. And even though I was from Edmonton, nobody held it against me.”