Jarome Iginla Autograph Card

A few days ago, fellow blogger The Irong Lung posted about Jarome Iginla in his series on the NHL's 1000-point men, where he's attempting to gather a hard-signed (i.e. no ''stickers'') autographed insert card for every player who has scored 1000 points and more.

That's one tough task I'd never attempt without first securing a Wayne Gretzky and a Mario Lemieux - two of the most sought-after players in league history and thus, two players who don't sign too many autographs. I have neither, but I do have this Iginla:

It's from Upper Deck's 2005-06 Ultimate Collection (card #US-JI, Ultimate Signatures sub-set) and features a really cool signature in thin blue sharpie. It's a cool, thick card that shows him wearing the captain's ''C'', which he's been wearing since the beginning of the 2003-04.

It's the first card I show of his in which he's wearing the Calgary Flames' red 2000s jersey (I have posted this one and this one in black, and this one and this one in white).

I'm pretty lucky in pulling some of his cards, especially he's one of my favourite all-time players (pretty much the top one since Joe Sakic retired).

He's entering the final year of his contract, and trade rumours will likely abound this year again, but I don't see the face of the franchise going anywhere, what with the Flames being the only team he's ever suited for (despite having been drafted by the Dallas Stars), and his having completed his 11th consecutive 30-goal season (talk about consistency!) Also, I'm sure his next contract will see him earning slightly less than his current $7M, which will enable the team to be more comfortable around the cap as he starts reaching into his twilight years.

I see him playing 5 more seasons, 3 more of which would be 30-goal years.

Coincidentally, he co-owns his junior team, the Kamloops Blazers, with yesterday's poster boy Shane Doan (along with Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor).