Iginla headlines 2020 hall class
TORONTO — Jarome Iginla will headline the Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2020.
The Calgary Flames icon and former captain was in his first year of eligibility following a standout career that spanned from 1996 through 2017.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Marian Hossa will join Iginla in the players’ category along with two defencemen who have waited a long time to hear their names called — Kevin Lowe and Doug Wilson — and Canadian women’s national team goalie Kim St-Pierre. Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland will go into the hall as a builder, rounding out the 2020 class unveiled Wednesday in Toronto following a vote by the hall’s 18-member selection committee.
Iginla, who helped Canada win gold at the 2002 and 2010 Olympics, will be the fourth black person enshrined in the hall, but just the second recognized for onice accomplishments in the NHL.
He will join former Edmonton Oilers goalie Grant Fuhr, Angela James of the Canadian women’s national team, and Willie O’Ree — the league’s first black player — who was inducted as a builder in 2018.
“This selection is hard to believe and makes me reflect and look back on my career,” Iginla said. “I was always just trying to make the NHL and this recognition means a lot to me and my family.”
Iginla registered 525 goals and 1,095 points in 1,219 games from 1996 through 2013 with Calgary before stops with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings. The 42-year-old Edmonton native finished his career with 1,300 points in 1,554 regular-season contests to go along with 37 goals and 31 assists in 81 playoff outings.
The winger put up solid numbers despite playing a large portion of his career during the so-called “dead puck” era when defensive play reigned before the NHL instituted a number of rule changes following the 2004-05 lockout. Iginla won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer in 2001-02, and grabbed the Rocket Richard Trophy with the most goals that season and again in 2003-04.
Selected 11th overall at the 1995 NHL draft by the Dallas Stars before being dealt to the Flames as part of the Joe Nieuwendyk trade, Iginla willed Calgary to Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup final before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but never again got close to hockey’s ultimate prize.
Hossa will become the second NHL player enshrined despite still being on an NHL payroll, following Chris Pronger in 2015.
Forty-one-year-old Hossa, who hasn’t suited up for a game since 2017 and isn’t expected to resume his career because of a serious skin condition, played 1,309 regular season games with the Ottawa Senators, Atlanta Thrashers, Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.