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Iggy pops goal No. 500

RANDY SPORTAK, QMI Agency, Jan 7 2012

Jarome Iginla is now a member of the prestigious 500-goal club.

The Calgary Flames captain and face of the franchise netted the milestone goal midway through the third period of Saturday night’s against the Minnesota Wild to become just the 42nd player in NHL history to hit that mark.

As a pure goal, it’s not going to go down in history as the prettiest, but that won’t matter to Iginla or anyone else who’s cheered on the Flames face of the franchise.

With the Flames leading 1-0 thanks to Lance Bouma’s first NHL tally, Iginla went down the right wing and simply fired a shot toward the net.

The puck ricocheted off the skates of both Wild defenceman Marek Zidlicky and forward Mikko Koivu before going past netminder Niklas Backstrom.

The Flames bench, when everyone finally realized it was indeed Iginla’s tally, cleared in celebration, and the standing ovation began with the chants of “Iggy! Iggy! Iggy!.”

Iginla, who started his career in 1996-97, is only the 15th player to score all those goals with the same organization, joining an incredibly exclusive club which includes Jean Beliveau, Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux, Stan Makita, Mike Modano, Gilbert Perreault, Maurice Richard, Joe Sakic, Brian Trottier and Steve Yzerman.

Teammates past and present will be celebrating Iginla’s achievement.

“Forty-one, all time. And guys (chasing) aren’t even close,” said Craig Conroy, Iginla’s close friend and long-time linemate. “It’s a very elite club. It’s like 3,000 hits in baseball. When Derek Jeter did it, I was watching that game and it was awesome.

“For some reason, we haven’t made that big of a deal about it.

“He’s a good friend and one of the best teammates I’ve ever had. There’s no more deserving person,” said Andrew Ference, who now plays for the Boston Bruins.

“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody in the league that doesn’t have the utmost respect for him and the way he plays the game and carries himself. Guys don’t just say that lightly around the league, even guys that have never played with him.

“To have that kind of praise from people you compete with on a night-in, night-out basis speaks volumes. He’s earned it. Despite all the goals and all that, the way he plays the game is the right way.”

Iginla, 34, scored the goal in his 1,149th game, which is tied for 123rd most in NHL history.

Of his goals, 253 have come on home ice, a testament to how much of an impact he’s been as a player on the road as well as at the Saddledome.

Iginla’s chase for 500 may have taken longer than expected — being just one of 10 players in NHL history to have scored 30 goals in 10 consecutive seasons — but based on the reaction by the Saddledome crowd, the wait was worth it.

“I told him before the (seven-game road) trip to save it because I wouldn’t see him until this game, but I was kidding,” Conroy said. “I know he’s wanted to get it as quick as he can.

“Now he can go for 600.”

For Conroy, it’s the second time he’s been witness to a player hitting the prestigious mark. He was a teammate of Brett Hull in St. Louis when the Golden Brett hit the mark.

This one was more special since Conroy set up 85 of Iginla’s tallies.

“With Brett, I was on the team and was there, but I didn’t help contribute. With Jarome, I was out there,” Conroy said. “It’s special.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
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