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Former Bruins F Jarome Iginla Elected To Hockey Hall Of Fame

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After 1300 points in 1554 NHL regular season games, former Boston Bruins winger Jarome Iginla was inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame on his first chance Wednesday. Marian Hossa also made it in as a first-ballot candidate and after a combined 43 years of waiting, defensemen Kevin Lowe and Doug Wilson joined him and Iginla in the men’s player category. They will be joined in the Class of 2020 by Canadian female star goaltender Kim St. Pierre and three-time Stanley Cup-winning GM Ken Holland in the builder category.

“This selection is hard to believe and makes me reflect and look back on my career,” Iginla said in an NHL press release.  “I was always just trying to make the NHL and this recognition means a lot to me and my family.”

After spending 16 seasons with the Calgary Flames, it appeared Iginla was traded to the Bruins at the 2013 NHL Trade deadline but at the last minute, then Flames General Manager Jay Feaster reneged on the deal and sent the two-time 50-goal scorer and his team captain to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ironically, Iginla and the Penguins were swept by the Bruins in the 2013 Eastern Conference Final, and then in an even greater instance of irony, Iginla signed a one-year contract with the Bruins for the 2013-14 season. 

 

The rugged winger, who won the 2002 Ted Lindsay Award and two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner with Canada came up huge in what would be his only season with the Bruins. Iginla scored 30 goals and added 31 assists in 78 regular season games and then lit the lamp five times and had two helpers in 12 games before the Bruins were ousted by the Montreal Canadiens in seven games in the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs. 

That turned out to be the last time Iginla would play in the playoffs as he signed with the Colorado Avalanche for the 2014-15 season and missed the playoffs twice with them and then was traded to the Kings in the 2016-17 season and missed the dance again before retiring. The closest he came to a Stanley Cup was when the Flames lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. He had 37 goals and 31 assists in 81 career playoff games.

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara praised Iginla’s professionalism and passion for the game in a tweet on the team’s Twitter account.

The Bruins now have 58 alumni in the hall of fame. Sadly, former Bruins captain Rick Middleton, who had his number retired to the TD Garden rafters last season, is not one of those Bruins to have a plaque in the hallowed hall despite finishing his NHL career with 448 goals and 540 assists in 1,005 games played.

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