CALGARY -- Jarome Iginla is officially the last player to wear No. 12 with the Calgary Flames.
The Flames retired Iginla's No. 12 jersey during a ceremony at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday, making him the third player in team history to receive the honor.
Iginla is the Flames' all-time leader in goals (525), points (1,095) and games played (1,219). Former teammates Craig Conroy, Martin Gelinas, Robyn Regehr, Mike Cammalleri, Jamie McLennan, Mike Commodore and Curtis Glencross were among the teammates to join Iginla in the ceremony.
"This is such a huge, unique honor," said Iginla, whose No. 12 will be positioned in the rafters between No. 9 (Lanny McDonald) and No. 30 (Mike Vernon). "It's not something you can prepare for. Coming out here, this is so special. It's not lost on my family or I what it means to have my name being up in the rafters."
Iginla's retirement ceremony made waves across hockey as fans and NHL players paid their respect to the legend.
Iginla played his first 16 NHL seasons in Calgary and was the captain of the Flames from 2003 until he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 28, 2013. He finished his career with 1,300 points (625 goals, 675 assists) in 1,554 games with Calgary, Pittsburgh, the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings.
Iginla twice won the Rocket Richard Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy as the top scorer in the NHL in 2001-02, along with the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, "annual award given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community," in 2003-04, and the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2008-09.
"He went above and beyond for everybody," Conroy said Friday. "I mean, if you ran into him in the street and you wanted to talk to him, he'd talk to you for 15, 20 minutes like it was no problem. If there were autographs, if there were kids, if there were something that he could do, he would do it. That's just the way he was day-in and day-out.
"He's a fierce competitor on the ice but a great person off the ice."
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