Jarome Iginla Jarome Arthur - Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla ( ; born July 1 , 1977 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . A five - time NHL All - Star , he is the Calgary Flames all - time leader in goals , points , and games played , and is second in assists to Al MacInnis . Named the Flames captain at the start of the 2003 – 04 season , Iginla has been called the first black captain in NHL history . He has represented Canada internationally on numerous occasions , helping Team Canada to its first Olympic gold medal in 50 years at the 2002 Winter Olympics and another gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver . As a junior , Iginla was a member of two Memorial Cup - winning teams with the Kamloops Blazers , and was named the Western Hockey League ' s Player of the Year in 1996 . He was selected 11th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft , but was later traded to Calgary and has played his entire professional career with the Flames . He led the NHL in goals and points in 2001 – 02 , and won the Lester B . Pearson Award as its most valuable player as voted by the players . In 2003 – 04 , Iginla led the league in goals for the second time and captained the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals , leading the league in playoff scoring . Iginla scored 50 goals in a season for a second time in 2007 – 08 . Known for his polite and generous nature , Iginla participates in numerous community events and donates $ 2 , 000 to charity for each goal he scores . Early life . Iginla was born in Edmonton , Alberta , July 1 , 1977 . His father , a lawyer , was born in Nigeria and changed his first name from Adekunle to Elvis when he arrived in Canada . His surname means " Big tree " in Yoruba , his father ' s native language . Iginla ' s mother , Susan , is originally from Oregon , and has worked as a massage therapist and music teacher . Iginla grew up with his mother and grandparents after his parents divorced when he was a year old . While his mother is a Buddhist , he identifies himself as Christian , his father ' s faith . In addition to hockey , Iginla played baseball as a young man and was the catcher on the Canadian National Junior team . He credits his grandfather for his career , as with his mother working and father attending law school , he would not have had the opportunity to play sports at a high level if not for his grandfather ' s support . Iginla grew up admiring other black hockey players , including Edmonton Oilers goaltender Grant Fuhr . Emulating Fuhr , Iginla played goaltender in his first two years of organized hockey before switching to the right wing . He played his entire minor hockey career in St . Albert , leading the Alberta Midget Hockey League in scoring as a 15 - year - old with 87 points for the St . Albert Midget Raiders in 1992 – 93 . Junior career . Iginla played three years with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League ( WHL ) . As a 16 - year - old in 1993 – 94 , he recorded six goals and 29 points in 48 regular season games before playing an additional 19 in the playoffs . The Blazers captured both the league title and the 1994 Memorial Cup , Canada ' s national junior championship . In reference to the Blazers ' dominance of the league at the time ( they had won their third WHL title in five seasons ) , Iginla described the expectations of success as being similar to those placed on the Montreal Canadiens , the NHL ' s most successful franchise : " When you put on a Blazers jersey , it ' s like putting on the Canadiens ' . You ' ve got to perform . " Iginla scored 33 goals and 71 points in 1994 – 95 , his first full WHL season . The Blazers repeated as league champions , earning a trip to the 1995 Memorial Cup . Iginla scored five goals in the tournament to lead the Blazers to a second consecutive national championship . He received the George Parsons Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player of the tournament . The Dallas Stars selected Iginla with their first round selection , 11th overall , in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft ; however , on December 20 , 1995 , they traded him to the Calgary Flames , along with Corey Millen , for the rights to forward Joe Nieuwendyk , then in a contract dispute with the Flames . In his final season in Kamloops in 1995 – 96 , Iginla finished fourth in league scoring with 136 points , including 63 goals in 63 games played , and was awarded the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the league ' s most outstanding player . The Blazers were upset in the Western Conference final by the Spokane Chiefs , but Iginla still finished fourth in playoff scoring , recording 29 points in 16 games . His performance during the season earned him an invitation to play for Team Canada at the 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Boston , where he led the tournament in scoring with 12 points and helped Canada to its fourth consecutive gold medal . NHL career . Iginla made his NHL debut in the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs , as he was signed to a contract and flown to Calgary immediately after his junior season ended in Kamloops . He appeared in two games for the Flames in their series against the Chicago Blackhawks . In doing so , he became the first 18 - year - old to play for the Flames since Dan Quinn in 1983 . In his first NHL game , Iginla assisted on a Theoren Fleury goal to record his first point ; he scored his first goal in his second game . He remained with the Flames , and played his first NHL season in 1996 – 97 . He earned a spot on that year ' s NHL All - Rookie Team and finished as the runner - up to Bryan Berard in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year after leading all first - year players in scoring with 50 points . By his third season , 1998 – 99 , Iginla led the Flames in goals with 28 . His success complicated negotiations for a new contract , as he and the Flames struggled to agree on a new deal following the season . Hoping to help resolve the contract impasse , he agreed to attend training camp without a contract , and purchased his own insurance as the team would not have been responsible financially if he suffered an injury . He remained without a contract at the start of the 1999 – 00 season and missed the first three games as a holdout before signing a deal worth US $ 4 . 9 million , plus bonuses . He finished the year with career highs in goals ( 29 ) and points ( 63 ) . He then topped both marks in 2000 – 01 by recording 31 goals and 71 points . After participating in Canada ' s Olympic summer camp before the season , Iginla again set new personal highs in 2001 – 02 when he registered 52 goals and 96 points . This season elevated Iginla to superstar status . He earned the Art Ross and Maurice Richard trophies as the NHL ' s leading point and goal scorer , respectively . He was also awarded the Lester B . Pearson Award as the league ' s most valuable player as voted by his peers , and was a nominee for both the Hart Memorial Trophy and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy . The Hart Trophy voting proved to be controversial : Iginla tied Canadiens goaltender José Théodore in voting points , but received fewer first place votes than Théodore . However , one voter , rumoured to be from Quebec — Théodore and the Canadiens ' home province — inexplicably left Iginla off his ballot . As a result of the controversy that followed , the Professional Hockey Writers Association changed the rules on how its members voted for the award to prevent a recurrence . Iginla was a member of Team Canada ' s Olympic gold medal - winning hockey team in 2002 at Salt Lake City and in 2010 at Vancouver . There were fears Iginla would again hold out after his contract expired following the season . These fears were unfounded , however , as he signed a two - year , $ 13 million deal before the season and was looked on to again lead the Flames offensively . Iginla fell back to 67 points in 2002 – 03 as injuries , including a lingering finger dislocation following a fight , diminished his play . His 35 goals were still enough to lead the Flames for the fourth time in five seasons . Despite his offensive contributions , the Flames missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season . Captaincy . At the start of the 2003 – 04 season , Iginla was named the 18th captain in Flames franchise history , and 14th since the team moved to Calgary from Atlanta in 1980 . His predecessor as captain , Craig Conroy , cited Iginla ' s experience and leadership for his decision to relinquish the captaincy to Iginla . " He was a leader on that team and old enough to where he ' d been there a long time . It was time for him . He took us to the Stanley Cup Final that year so it worked out pretty well . " Iginla was reported to be the first black captain in NHL history , though former Blackhawks captain Dirk Graham , who is of African descent , has also been said to hold that honour . Iginla responded to being named captain by capturing his second Rocket Richard Trophy , sharing the goal - scoring title with Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash with 41 goals . The Flames qualified for the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the sixth seed , the team ' s first playoff appearance in eight years . Iginla led all playoff scorers with 13 goals as he captained the Flames to their first Stanley Cup finals appearance in 15 years . The Flames were unable to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning , however , falling to the Eastern Conference champions in seven games . A dejected Iginla sat in the Flames locker room after the final game and was met by his father , who told his son that " I ' m proud of you . All of Canada is proud of you . " While he was hailed as the best player in the world following his performance in the playoffs , Iginla spent the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout focused on improving his game further . Following the lockout , he was named as one of six player representatives on the newly created NHL competition committee , with a mandate to suggest recommendations for ways to improve the game . He held this position until early 2008 . On December 7 , 2006 , Iginla reached a career milestone when he scored his 300th career goal and 600th career point against the Minnesota Wild . He was expected to play in the 2007 NHL All - Star Game in Dallas ; however he missed the game with a knee injury . The injury kept him out of 12 games in 2006 – 07 . He nevertheless scored 94 points , including a career - high 55 assists . The 2007 – 08 season saw Iginla post his 2nd career 50 goal season , adding 48 assists for a career high 98 points , good for third overall in the league . He was voted to the starting line - up of the 2008 NHL All - Star Game along with teammate Dion Phaneuf , and was named captain of the Western All - Star Team . He broke the Flames ' franchise record for games played when he played his 804th career game on November 29 , 2007 , against the Anaheim Ducks . He also broke Theoren Fleury ' s franchise record for goals when he scored his 365th on March 10 , 2008 , against the St . Louis Blues . Iginla was nominated as a Hart Trophy finalist for league most valuable player for the third time , though he again did not win the award . During the season , he signed a five - year contract extension with the Flames at $ 7 million per season . Iginla continued his pursuit of Fleury ' s franchise record of 830 points in 2008 – 09 . He recorded his 800th point with a first period assist against the Chicago Blackhawks on December 19 , 2008 . He ended 2008 with a career high five points in a New Year ' s Eve game against the Edmonton Oilers . He had 14 previous four point games . In January , he was named to the 2009 NHL All - Star Game in Montreal , his fifth such selection . Representing the Western Conference , Iginla scored his first career NHL All - Star Game goal in a 12 – 11 shootout loss . He passed Fleury as the Flames ' all - time scoring leader on March 1 , 2009 , scoring five points , including his 400th career goal , in an 8 – 6 loss to the Lightning . He finished the season with 35 goals and 89 points , but a disappointing playoff performance led to questions of whether he had been playing with an injury . Iginla quickly denied the rumour , admitted that he had not played with the level of consistency he expected and stated that he would spend the summer focused on improving his play in 2009 – 10 . Uncertain future . The Flames struggled in 2009 – 10 , failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2003 . Iginla accepted responsibility for the team ' s failure , admitting that finishing around 70 points for the season was " not enough " . The team ' s declining fortunes and Iginla ' s season led to increasing questions on whether he could be traded from the team he has played his entire NHL career with . Iginla , who would have to approve any trade the team attempts to make due a no - movement clause in his contract , expressed that he did not wish to leave Calgary , but would accommodate a trade if the Flames wished to do so Former Flames ' general manager Craig Button argued against trading Iginla , blaming a lack of complementary players for both Iginla and Calgary ' s failures : " There ' s nothing easier in hockey than to be able to shut down one player . And the Calgary Flames , I would argue , have made it really easy for teams to shut down Jarome . " . The Flames have publicly stated that they do not plan to trade him . Individually , he reached 900 career points in a two - goal , two - assist effort against the Oilers on January 30 , 2010 . Six nights later , Iginla played his 1 , 000th career game against the Florida Panthers . On October 10 , 2010 , Iginla passed Donald Brashear for most NHL games played by a player of African descent when he played in his 1026th NHL game . On Narch 27th 2013 Iginla was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Ben Hanowski , Kenneth Agostino and a draft pick . International play . Iginla first represented Canada at the 1994 Nations Cup , an unsanctioned tournament for players under the age of 18 . He led Canada in scoring with five goals and nine points as it won the gold medal . Two years later , he joined the national junior team at the 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships . He led the tournament in scoring with five goals and 12 points as Canada won its fourth consecutive gold medal . He was named an all - star and the tournament ' s top forward . One year later , Iginla played in his first tournament with the senior team , competing at the 1997 World Championships as a 19 - year - old , the youngest player on the team . He recorded two goals and three assists in 11 games as Canada won the gold medal . A late invitation to join Team Canada ' s summer camp in preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics helped Iginla emerge as a star player . He was so surprised by the invite he initially thought one of his Flames teammates was playing a prank on him . He scored two goals in the gold medal game , a 5 – 2 victory over the United States , as Canada won its first Olympic gold medal in 50 years . Iginla also represented Canada at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey as an alternate captain , playing on a line with Joe Sakic and Mario Lemieux , where Canada again won the gold medal . Jarome participated in his second Olympics , his first with a letter on his jersey , at the 2006 Turin games , recording three points in six games . The Canadians were unable to defend their 2002 gold medal , losing to Russia in the quarter - finals . Named an alternate captain once again for the 2010 team in Vancouver , he opened the tournament with a hat trick against Norway . He finished as the tournament leader with five goals , and assisted on Sidney Crosby ' s overtime winning goal in the gold medal final against the United States . Playing style . Iginla is considered to be one of the NHL ' s preeminent power forwards . Upon entering the league , he tried to emulate players like Brendan Shanahan and Keith Tkachuk , hoping to match their combination of finesse and physicality . He is one of the most consistent scorers in the league ; between 1998 and 2008 , only Jaromír Jágr scored more NHL goals than Iginla . Even so , scouting reports have argued that Iginla ' s lack of speed makes it easier for opponents to isolate him and restrict his ability to move if his teammates rely on him too much to lead the offence . The abuse he faced at the hands of opponents early in his NHL career prompted Iginla ' s coaches to work at developing his physical play . While he was not enthusiastic about fighting , Iginla accepted then head coach Brian Sutter ' s arguments that he needed to adopt a more aggressive style to improve as a player . Iginla is most effective when he has room to manoeuvre , and to create that space , he had to intimidate his opponents . The lessons Iginla learned have carried throughout his career . " You ' ve got a power forward who does it all , " said Craig Conroy . " I mean , he ' ll fight , and hit , and score goals . Maybe it ' s not the end - to - end rushes , but he does all those little things that win games and get things done . " His opponents also respect his play . Rob Blake said that while Iginla is not known for fancy play , " he ' ll run you over . Or he ' ll fight somebody . And then he ' ll score a goal . He does pretty much everything you ' d want a guy to do . " Iginla has recorded several Gordie Howe hat trick s . His fights , including one with Tampa Bay star Vincent Lecavalier in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals , have had a motivating effect on his play and that of his teammates . Iginla has suffered injuries as a result of his fighting , including a broken hand from a 2003 fight with Bill Guerin of the Dallas Stars . His physical style of play also leads to a greater risk of persistent injuries and penalties . He commands the respect of his peers , and has been known to stand up to the coaching staff to defend a fellow player . Former teammate Andrew Ference once described following Iginla as like " following a friend " . Preferring to lead by example , Iginla is not regarded as a vocal captain . He likes to speak with players individually , and tries to ensure that all of his teammates are comfortable . He was named the recipient of the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2009 . Off the ice . Iginla married his high school sweetheart , Kara , and the couple has three children : Jade , Tij , and Joe . They had been dating since they were in the eighth grade . He has two half - brothers , Jason and Stephen , and two half - sisters , Theresa and Elizabeth . He is an avid golfer and a regular participant in the Calgary Flames Celebrity Charity Golf Classic . He is well known for his kind - hearted nature . Former Flames general manager Craig Button described Iginla as being grounded : " he doesn ' t carry himself with any attitude or arrogance . He ' s confident in his abilities . He ' s self - assured . He ' s genuine . He ' s a better person than he is a player , and we all know what kind of player he is . " In 2002 , while in Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympic Games , Iginla struck up a conversation with four Calgarians sitting next to his table , and found out they were sleeping in their car outside of the hotel . He excused himself from the conversation , and booked them accommodations at his own expense at the hotel his family was staying in . Since 2002 , he has operated the Jarome Iginla Hockey School in Calgary as a non - profit organization , donating proceeds to the Diabetes Research Association . In 2004 , he was awarded the NHL Foundation Player Award for his community service and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in recognition of his humanitarian contributions . Iginla supports many charities . In 2000 , he began donating $ 1 , 000 per goal he scored to KidSport , a figure he doubled to $ 2 , 000 in 2005 . From 2000 through to the end of the 2008 season he donated $ 430 , 000 from this initiative . Iginla is a part owner of the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League , for whom he played during his junior hockey days . He purchased a minority share in the franchise , along with fellow NHL players Shane Doan , Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor , in October 2007 . He is also an ambassador with the NHL Diversity program , which supports youth hockey organizations that offer economically disadvantaged kids the opportunity to play . Since 2008 , he has been a hockey spokesperson for Scotiabank , appearing in commercials and at events supporting its grassroots hockey programs , as well as for Samsung Canada . Career statistics . Regular season and playoffs . " Statistics as of the end of the 2009 – 10 season . "