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With his selection to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020, Jarome Iginla represents perhaps the last of a dying breed of hockey player: the quintessential power forward (think Gordie Howe, Mark Messier, Cam Neely, Phil Esposito, or Eric Lindros). In fact, with both his physical style of play plus his knack for putting points on the board (career totals of 600+ goals and 1,300+ points), Iginla’s game in many ways resembles that of another great power forward from an earlier generation in Brendan Shanahan. Both were not only consistent point-per-game producers for two decades each, but were also not afraid to drop their gloves if necessary – see this fight between the pair from 2001. Thus, with Iginla rightfully joining Shanahan in the Hall of Fame, let us compare these two skilled physical forces and ask:
Who was better – Jarome Iginla or Brendan Shanahan?
The Beginning
Iginla and Shanahan both grew up in the hockey hotbed of Canada and were star players at the junior hockey level, which in turn led to each one being a first-round NHL draft pick.
Born and raised in the Edmonton area to a Nigerian father and an American mother, Iginla played both hockey and baseball growing up; following in the footsteps of one of his idols, goalie Grant Fuhr of the Edmonton Oilers, Iginla was originally a goalie before switching to forward. As a junior playing for the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL), he led the team to back-to-back Memorial Cups as the best junior hockey team in Canada and was subsequently selected 11th overall in the first round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, but traded later that year to the Calgary Flames along with Corey Millen for star forward Joe Nieuwendyk. Iginla spent one more year in the WHL, winning the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the league’s top player, before joining the Flames for the 1995-1996 postseason; then, in his first full season in 1996-1997, he scored 21 goals with 29 assists for 50 points and a -4 +/- rating to finish second in the Calder Trophy race for top rookie.
Similarly, Shanahan grew up in the Toronto, Ontario region as one of a family of four boys and likewise excelled in a variety of sports, especially hockey and lacrosse. For his junior career, he played for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and parlayed a few outstanding seasons into being selected second overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. As a rookie, Shanahan posted 7 goals and 19 assists for 26 points with a -20 +/- rating for the lowly Devils.
Career Comparison
For two decades each, Iginla and Shanahan were among the NHL’s elite players, possessing a rare combination of skill and physicality as prototypical power forwards.
After a hiccup in his second year where he declined to just 32 points, Iginla would then show solid and gradual improvement, posting 51, 63, and then 71 points by 2000-2001. Then, he would truly emerge as a superstar in the 2001-2002 season – in addition to a league-leading and career-best 52 goals, he added 44 assists for a league-best 96 points with a +27 +/- rating to win the Richard Trophy, the Ross Trophy, and the Pearson Award (now known as the Lindsay Award) while finishing second for the Hart Trophy to Jose Theodore (the two had the same number of total votes, but Theodore garnered more first-place votes). Though he dropped off the next year to 67 points (35 goals and 32 assists) with a -10 +/- rating, Iginla was named Flames team captain in 2003-2004 and rebounded to once again lead the NHL in goals scored (41) while adding 32 assists for 73 points with a +21 +/- rating and a career-high 84 penalty minutes; not only did he win the Richard Trophy once again, but he also took home the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his humanitarian efforts and again finished second for the Hart (this time to Martin St. Louis).
Post the lockout, Iginla once again dropped to 67 points before embarking on three consecutive seasons with at least 89 points scored:
- 2006-2007: 39 goals and a career-high 55 assists for 94 points with a +12 +/- rating
- 2007-2008: 50 goals and 48 assists for a career-best 98 points with a +27 +/- rating; finished third for the Hart
- 2008-2009: 35 goals and 54 assists for 89 points with a -2 +/- rating; finished tenth for the Hart, seventh for the Lady Byng Trophy, and won the Mark Messier Leadership Award
Sandwiched between two 60+ point years was Iginla’s last great season in 2010-2011: 43 goals and 43 assists for 86 points with an even +/- rating, as well as reaching 1,000 career points. After scoring his 500th career goal in 2011-2012 and having played 16 years in Calgary, he was traded midway through the 2012-2013 season to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a first-round draft pick and a pair of college prospects.
During the last phase of his career, Iginla donned a number of uniforms – following half a season with the Penguins, he joined the Boston Bruins as a free agent and posted 61 points (30 goals and 31 assists) with a career-best +34 +/- rating before coming back to the Western Conference and signing with the Colorado Avalanche; there, he spent two-and-half solid seasons before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a mid-round draft pick. Following half a season with the Kings, Iginla sat out for a year before officially retiring in 2018, having played his last NHL game at age 40; overall, he holds Flames career records for games played, goals, and points, and is second in assists only to Al MacInnis.
Meanwhile, Shanahan developed into a point-per-game player in New Jersey, talling 50, 72, and 66 points after his rookie season, with his best year coming in 1989-1990: 30 goals and 42 assists for 72 points with a +15 +/- rating. At age 22, he became a restricted free agent and signed with the St. Louis Blues – as compensation, the Devils received defenseman Scott Stevens, who would captain the team to numerous Stanley Cup titles. As for Shanahan, he had a strong first year in St. Louis before breaking out to the tune of 51 goals and 43 assists for 94 points and a +10 +/- rating in 1992-1993. This was followed by a career-best year in which he posted 52 goals and 50 assists for a career-high 102 points, though with a -9 +/- rating; showing his mean streak, he also added a career-best (worst?) 211 penalty minutes, one of 17 seasons with at least 100 penalty minutes. During the 1994-1995 lockout, Shanahan briefly played in Germany for Dusseldorf EG of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) before returning to put up 41 points (20 goals and 21 assists) in 45 games; however, after four seasons with the Blues, he was traded to the Hartford Whalers for another star defenseman and dominating physical presence in a young Chris Pronger.
Though Shanahan was named team captain and had 78 points (44 goals and 34 assists) with a +2 +/- rating for the Whalers in 1995-1996, uncertainty around the team’s future (they would soon relocate and become the Carolina Hurricanes) led to another trade just two games into the 1996-1997 season, this time to the Detroit Red Wings along with Brian Glynn in exchange for Keith Primeau, Paul Coffey, and a first-round draft pick. Shanahan spent more time in Detroit than with any other team (nine seasons) and was a consistent 60-80 point scorer with at least 25 goals each year. His first year was perhaps his best with 46 goals and 41 assists for 87 points and a career-best +31 +/- rating post-trade. In 2001-2002, he not only had his highest career Hart Trophy finish (ninth) with 37 goals and 38 assists for 75 points and a +23 +/- rating, but also reached the career milestones of 500 goals and 1,000 points. As an encore, Shanahan tallied 68 points (30 goals and 38 assists) with a +5 +/- rating while also winning the Clancy Trophy. Upon returning from another lockout in 2005-2006, he had the last great season of his career with 40 goals and 41 assists for 81 points and a +29 +/- rating.
Once again a free agent after nearly a decade in Detroit, Shanahan signed with the New York Rangers for the 2006-2007 season and had two solid years (62 and 46 points, respectively). Finally, as a 40-year-old, his career came full circle in 2008-2009 – midseason, he joined the Devils (his original team) and scored 14 points in 34 games; though he came back for the preseason the next year, Shanahan did not play another NHL game before officially retiring in late 2009 as the only player in league history with 600+ career goals and 2,000+ career penalty minutes.
On the whole, even though Shanahan played one additional season, Iginla actually has the benefit of 30 extra NHL games; nevertheless, Shanahan has slight advantages in goals, assists, and points (though both have 600+ goals, 600+ assists, and 1,300+ points for their careers), plus a noticeable lead in +/- rating helped in large part by playing on powerhouse Red Wings teams. Interestingly, both players had a dozen 30-goal seasons (including a pair of 50-goal seasons) and while only Shanahan had a 100-point season, Iginla has the edge in both 80-point and 90-point seasons (5x vs. 4x and 3x vs. 2x, respectively); overall, Shanahan has the marginally higher career points-per-game average (0.89 vs. 0.84). Despite being a top player for so long and earning more All-Star Game selections than this counterpart (8 to 6), Shanahan actually never won a major individual award with the exception of a Clancy, while Iginla has two Richard Trophies, a Pearson, a Clancy, and a Messier to his name. No surprise, both legends are Hall of Famers, though Shanahan had to wait one year (2013 induction) as opposed to Iginla being a first-ballot choice in 2020.
Regular Season Statistics
| Jarome Iginla | Player | Brendan Shanahan |
| 20 (1996-2017) | Seasons | 21 (1987-2009) |
| 1,554 | Games Played | 1,524 |
| 625 | Goals | 656 |
| 675 | Assists | 698 |
| 1,300 | Points | 1,354 |
| +30 | +/- | +151 |
| 6x | All-Star Games | 8x |
| – | Hart Trophies | – |
| 1x | Ross Trophies | – |
| – | Stanley Cups | 3x |
| – | Conn Smythes | – |
| 2x Richard, 1x Pearson, 1x Clancy, 1x Messier | Other Awards | 1x Clancy |
| 2020 | Hall of Fame Induction | 2013 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
As the heart and soul of the Flames, Iginla brought the team agonizingly close to their first Stanley Cup title since 1989, but fell just short, whereas Shanahan was a key piece on three Stanley Cup-winning teams in his prime.
Over eight career playoff trips (6x with Calgary and once each with Pittsburgh and Boston), by far Iginla’s most memorable moments came in 2003-2004: that year, he helped carry the Flames all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals and led the team with 5 points (3 goals and 2 assists) in a heartbreaking seven-game loss to Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Moreover, overall, Iginla led the playoffs with 13 goals and added 9 assists for 22 points with a +13 +/- rating.
In contrast, Shanahan was an annual playoff fixture, making it to the postseason in 19 of his 21 NHL seasons (9x Red Wings, 4x Devils, 4x Blues, and 2x Rangers) and notably, winning three Stanley Cups with Detroit in the late 1990s and early 2000s:
- 1996-1997: swept fellow power forward Lindros and the Philadelphia Flyers as part of a veteran-laden team led by the likes of Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov; contributed 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points with a +8 +/- rating
- 1997-1998: repeated as champions with another sweep, this time of the Washington Capitals; chipped in 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points with a +5 +/- rating
- 2001-2002: beat the upstart Carolina Hurricanes in five games; Shanahan’s most prolific individual playoffs with 8 goals and 11 assists for 19 points with a +5 +/- rating
Additionally, both players were stalwarts for Canada on the international stage. Iginla played in three Winter Olympics (2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turin, and 2010 Vancouver), winning gold medals in both 2002 and 2010, plus gold medals at both the World Championship and World Cup. As for Shanahan, he is a member of the “Triple Gold Club” (Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, and World Championship gold) – a 2x Olympian (1998 Nagano and 2002 Salt Lake City), he has the Olympic gold from 2002, plus a World Championship gold and both gold and silver medals at the Canada Cup.
Playoff Statistics
| Jarome Iginla | Player | Brendan Shanahan |
| 81 | Games Played | 184 |
| 37 | Goals | 60 |
| 31 | Assists | 74 |
| 68 | Points | 134 |
| +7 | +/- | +31 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; Iginla and Shanahan were both stars for roughly 15 seasons before spending the twilight of their careers as strong veteran presences and still productive players. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Jarome Iginla | Player | Brendan Shanahan |
| 2000-2004, 2005-2011 | Decade of Dominance | 1992-1997, 1999-2003, 2005-2006 |
| 795 | Games Played | 751 |
| 393 | Goals | 393 |
| 417 | Assists | 388 |
| 810 | Points | 781 |
| +76 | +/- | +132 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
With the exception of +/- rating, the tables are turned slightly here, as Iginla was the more productive player over their respective decades of dominance in terms of point totals, though Shanahan still has the slightly better per-game scoring rate (1.04 to 1.02).
My Thoughts
Given the physical nature of their playing styles (hockey is a physical sport regardless), it is incredible that Jarome Iginla and Brendan Shanahan managed to stay relatively healthy and highly productive for two decades in the NHL. As similar as their career numbers are, what separates the two from each other in my mind? On one hand, Shanahan was the more physically dominant player (see the penalty minutes), consistently good for just a little bit longer, and achieved greater team success, particularly with the Red Wings. However, as good as he was, he was never quite viewed as one of the top five players in the NHL at any point during his career and was a bit of a mercenary (i.e. if you had to associate him with one team, it would probably be Detroit, but he was always surrounded by great players rather than being THE guy); in contrast, in addition to being the best player in Calgary Flames history, prime Iginla was among the best players in the league, leading the league in goals scored twice and also finishing as MVP runner-up 2x.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Jarome Iginla
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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