Tampa Bay from a NASA satellite

Tampa Bay is a large, natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay.^[1]

"Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality. This misconception probably stems from the naming of several professional sports franchises (including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, and FC Tampa Bay) whose names represent the collective Tampa Bay Area, the hub of which is the city of Tampa, Florida.^[2]

Geography[link]

Tampa Bay watershed from USGS

Origin[link]

Approximately 6,000 years ago, Tampa Bay formed as a brackish drowned river valley type^[3] estuary with a wide mouth connecting it to the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to that time, it was a large fresh water lake, possibly fed by the Floridan Aquifer through natural springs.^[4] Though the exact process of the lake-to-bay transformation is not completely understood, the leading theory is that rising seas levels following the last ice age coupled with the formation of a massive sink hole near the current mouth of the bay created a connection between the lake and the gulf.^[5]

Ecology[link]

Tampa Bay is Florida's largest open-water estuary, extending over 400 square miles (1,000 km²) and forming coastlines of Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties. The freshwater sources of the bay are distributed among over a hundred small tributaries, rather than a single river.^[6] The Hillsborough River is the largest such freshwater source, with the Alafia, Manatee, and Little Manatee rivers the next largest sources. Because of these many flows into the bay, its large watershed covers portions of five Florida counties^[7] and approximately 2,200 square miles (5,700 km²). The bay bottom is silty and sandy, with an average water depth of only about 12 feet (3.7 m).^[8]

Tampa Bay's shallow waters, sea grass beds, mud flats, and surrounding mangrove-dominated wetlands provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. More than 200 species of fish are found in the waters of the bay, along with bottlenose dolphins and manatees, plus many types of marine invertebrates including oysters, scallops, clams, shrimp and crab. More than two dozen species of birds, including brown pelicans, several types of heron and egret, Roseate spoonbills, cormorants, and laughing gulls make their year-round home along its shores and small islands, with several other migratory species joining them in the winter. The cooler months are also when warm-water outfalls from power plants bordering the bay draw one out of every six West Indian manatees, an endangered species, to the area.^[9]

Tampa Bay has been designated an "Estuary of National Significance" by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Two National Wildlife Refuges are located in Tampa Bay: Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge and the refuge on Egmont Key. Most of the islands (including several man-made islands built from dredge spoil^[8][10]) and sandbars are off-limits to the public, due to their fragile ecology and their use as nesting sites by many species of birds. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program keeps watch over the Bay's health.^[8]

Human habitation[link]

Earliest known detailed map of Tampa Bay, by Don Francisco Maria Celi of the Spanish Royal Fleet, 1757. Map is oriented with east at the top. Pinellas peninsula is at bottom, Tampa peninsula in middle, Hillsborough River shown extending into the interior at top left

Humans have lived in the area for millennia, possibly as long as 12,000 to 14,000 years. The first local people to fully adapt to a sea-side lifestyle were those of the Manasota culture, a variant of the Weeden Island culture, who lived on the shores of Tampa Bay beginning around 5,000 - 6,000 years ago^[11]. They were in turn replaced by the Safety Harbor culture approximately 800 AD.

The Safety Harbor culture was dominant in the area at the time of first contact with Europeans. The Tocobaga, who built their principal town near today's Safety Harbor in the northwest corner of Old Tampa Bay, are the best known group from that era, but there were many coastal villages organized into various small chiefdoms all around the bay.^[12]

Spanish maps dated as early as 1584 identifies Tampa Bay as Baya de Spirito Santo ("Bay of the Holy Spirit").^[13] A map dated 1695 identifies the area as Bahia Tampa.^[14] Later maps dated 1794^[15] and 1800^[16] show the bay divided with three different names, Tampa Bay, Hillsboro Bay and the overall name of Bay of Spiritu(o) Santo.

The United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1819. The name Spirito Santo seems to have disappeared from maps of the region in favor of "Tampa Bay" (sometimes divided into Tampa and Hillsboro Bays) soon after the US established Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in 1824.^[17]

For the next 100 years, many new communities were founded around the bay. Fort Brooke begat Tampa on the northeast shores, Fort Harrison begat Clearwater on the west, the trading post of "Braden's Town" developed into Bradenton on the south, and St. Petersburg grew quickly after its founding in the late 19th century. By 2000, the region surrounding Tampa Bay had more than 2.5 million residents.

Environmental decline and recovery[link]

Tampa Bay was once teeming with fish and wildlife. People of the Safety Harbor culture lived almost entirely from mullet, shellfish, sea turtles, manatees, crabs, and other bounties harvested form the sea. After Tampa had been incorporated for several decades, visitors still reported schools of mullet swimming in such numbers that they "impeded the passage of boats."^[18]

The growth of the surrounding communities slowly caused deterioration of the natural environment. Heavy fishing, dredging to deepen shipping channels, and the clearing of mangroves for shoreline development were important factors.^[19] Most damaging was the discharge of waste water and other pollutants into the bay, which destroyed water quality and grasses.^[20] By the 1970s, sea grass coverage (which is vital to marine life) had decreased by more than 80%, the water was so murky that sunlight could not reach the shallow bottom, and bay beaches were regularly closed due to unsafe levels of pollutants.^[20]

Beginning in the early 1980s after federal and state legislation to improve water quality, authorities installed improved water treatment plants and tightened regulation of industrial discharge. Gradually the bay was being cleaned.^[21] By 2010, measures of sea grass coverage, water clarity, and biodiversity had improved to levels last seen in the 1950s.^[22]

The Port of Tampa

Transportation[link]

In Tampa's early days, the easiest way to get to Fort Brooke was by boat. But by the late 19th century, the deeper drafts of newer vessels meant that much of naturally shallow Tampa Bay was not navigable by commercial shipping. When Henry B. Plant's railroad reached the area in 1885, he continued the line past Tampa and across the Interbay Peninsula, where he built the town of Port Tampa on Old Tampa Bay. He wanted to create a new port for his fleet of steamships.

To alleviate the problem of the shallow bay, the US Army Corps of Engineers began dredging operations in the early 20th century. The Corp currently maintains more than 80 miles of deep-water channels in Tampa Bay; these must be continuously re-dredged and deepened due to the sandy nature of the bay bottom. Dredging has enabled seaborne commerce to become an important part of the Tampa Bay area's economy but sharply threatened the bay and region's ecology. From its small beginnings, the Port of Tampa has grown into the largest port in Florida and the 10th largest in the nation. It accommodates half of Florida's cargo in the form of bulk, break bulk, roll-on/roll-off, refrigerated and container cargo. It is the site of a ship repair and building industry, along with recently expanded cruise facilities.

The Port of Manatee, with more refrigerated dockside space than any other Gulf of Mexico port, is the closest of the three Tampa Bay deepwater ports to the Panama Canal. It is also one of the state's busiest, ranking fifth among Florida's fourteen seaports in total annual cargo tonnage. The Port of St. Petersburg is home to a U.S. Coast Guard station. The smallest of Florida's ports, it operates as a landlord port managed by the city of St. Petersburg.

The Sunshine Skyway from its southern approach, St. Petersburg in the distance

Bridges that cross Tampa Bay[link]

• Sunshine Skyway Bridge: spans the mouth of Tampa Bay from Bradenton on the south to St. Petersburg on the north. Part of I-275
• Gandy Bridge: spans Old Tampa Bay from Tampa on the east to St. Petersburg on the west. First bridge to link Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
• Howard Frankland Bridge: spans middle of Old Tampa Bay from Tampa on the east to St. Pete on the west. Part of I-275
• Courtney Campbell Causeway: spans northern Old Tampa Bay from Tampa on the east to Clearwater on the west.
• Bayside Bridge: runs roughly parallel to the western shore of Old Tampa Bay from Largo on the south to Clearwater on the north

See also[link]

• Climate of the Tampa Bay Area
• Battle of Tampa, an American Civil War naval battle in Tampa Bay.
• St. Petersburg Pier, a tourist attraction that juts into the bay from downtown Saint Petersburg, Florida
• Bayshore Boulevard, street near Downtown Tampa that runs along the bay, world's longest sidewalk

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tampa Bay Water Atlas
• Hillsborough Bay (USACE)
• Tampa Bay Watershed - Florida DEP

v t e Tampa Bay Area Topics Tampa Bay · Climate · History · Media · Sports · Tampa International Airport · Hillsborough County Schools · Pinellas County Schools · University of South Florida Central cities Tampa · St. Petersburg · Clearwater Smaller communities Pinellas Park · Temple Terrace · Brandon · Zeyphrhills · Plant City · Largo · Dunedin · Tarpon Springs · Lutz · Greater Sun Center Counties in MSA Hernando · Hillsborough · Pasco · Pinellas See also:  Florida

Coordinates: 27°45′45″N 82°32′45″W / 27.7625°N 82.54583°W / 27.7625; -82.54583

Lavonte David (born January 23, 1990) is an American football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL).

A native of Miami, Florida, David attended Northwestern High School, where he was a teammate of Jacory Harris, Marcus Forston, Sean Spence and Anthony Gaitor, another member of the Buccaneers. Northwestern won back-to-back state titles in 2006 and 2007, and was listed as mythical national champions by USA Today in 2007. Regarded as only a two-star prospect by Rivals.com, David was not highly recruited.^[1] He originally signed with Middle Tennessee State, but then decided to attend Fort Scott Community College. In 2010, he transferred to Nebraska, where he set the school's single-season record for tackles with 152. At the conclusion of the 2011 season, he was named First Team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media. He was also the winner of the inaugural Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, awarded to the best linebacker in the Big Ten.^[2]

At the 2012 NFL Draft pick, David was selected in round 2, pick 58 by the Tampa Bay Bucaneers.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nebraska Cornhuskers bio
• NFL Combine bio

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Martin St. Louis
Born	(1975-06-18) June 18, 1975 (age 37) Laval, QC, CAN
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Tampa Bay Lightning Calgary Flames
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	1997–present

Martin St. Louis (French pronunciation: [maʁtɛ̃ sɛ̃ lwi]; born June 18, 1975) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL).

St. Louis skates against the Penguins in the 2011 playoffs.

Playing career[link]

St. Louis grew up in Laval, Quebec playing minor hockey and eventually made it onto the AAA Midget Laval Laurentides in 1991-92. After a strong season in Midget, he was signed by the Hawkesbury Hawks Jr.A. hockey club of the Central Junior Hockey League (CJHL) in Ontario. After a strong year with the Hawks (37-50-87 in just 31 games), St. Louis accepted an NCAA scholarship with the University of Vermont.

Medal record
Competitor for  Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver	2009 Switzerland
Silver	2008 Canada
World Cup of Hockey
Gold	2004

As an amateur, St. Louis played for the University of Vermont Catamounts on the same team as Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas, and on the same line as former Tampa Bay Lightning teammate Éric Perrin. St. Louis was an NCAA All-Star and three-time Hobey Baker Award finalist for college player of the year. He ranks first amongst all Vermont scorers in career points (267) and assists (176), and ranks third in career goals (91).

Despite his impressive numbers with the Catamounts, he was not drafted and accepted a training camp invitation from the Ottawa Senators. He was released from Senators' training camp on September 18, 1997 and eventually signed as a free agent with the Calgary Flames on February 18, 1998.^[1] He was immediately assigned to the IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks, where he spent the remainder of the season^[1] and scored 50 points in 56 games. St. Louis was a point-per-game player with the Saint John Flames of the American Hockey League, scoring 114 points in 95 games. When Craig Button was appointed general manager of the Flames in 2000, he released St. Louis who then signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

St. Louis was on pace to have a career year in the 2001–02 when his season ended prematurely due to a broken leg.^[2] In 2002–03 he returned to form with 33 goals and 70 points, leading the Lightning to their first Southeast Division title and their first playoff series win ever, the later coming in dramatic fashion with a 3OT goal against Washington. At mid-season he was selected to play in the All-Star Game, where he took home the Puck Control Relay title in the SuperSkills competition. In 2003–04 he led the NHL in scoring with 94 points. He scored a 2OT goal in Game 6 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Calgary Flames for the Stanley Cup in 7 games. At season's end he won both the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player to his team and the Lester B. Pearson Award as league MVP voted by his peers. St. Louis became the first player since Wayne Gretzky and only the eighth in NHL history, to win the Art Ross Trophy, the Stanley Cup, and the Hart Memorial Trophy all in one season. He was also a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy, losing out to linemate and Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards.

As further acknowledgement of his new-found star status, in August 2004 he was chosen as the cover model for the Sega® ESPN NHL 2K5 home video game. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he played for the Swiss team HC Lausanne.

In August 2005, Martin St. Louis signed a six-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning worth $31.5 million. St. Louis was quoted as saying, "I'm just happy that the Lightning have found a way to keep me long-term. Tampa was always my first choice, I've had so many good things happen to me in Tampa."^{[citation needed]}

St. Louis played for Team Canada at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where he was part of the team which won the World Cup, and the 2006 Winter Olympics which saw them eliminated by Russia in the quarterfinals after what was considered a disappointing tournament.

Marty St. Louis skates against the Florida Panthers in 2010.

In the 2006–07 NHL season, St. Louis recorded a personal high of 102 points (43 goals, 59 assists). The Lightning lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New Jersey Devils. He was again a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy. In what would be a recurring theme, he was beaten out by Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk.

Before the start of the 2007–08 season, St. Louis was named an alternate captain of the Lightning because of captain Tim Taylor's expected long-term absence due to injury.^[3]

At the end of the 2007–08 season, St. Louis finished the season with 25 goals, 58 assists and 83 points, finishing second in team scoring behind teammate Vincent Lecavalier.

St. Louis was named finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy for both the 2007–08 season and the 2008-09 season at the NHL Awards. He was beaten out by Pavel Datsyuk both years.

At the end of the 2008–09 season, St. Louis finished the season with 30 goals, 50 assists and 80 points. He led the Tampa Bay Lightning in goals, assists, points, games played, and short handed goals. He was second in plus/minus and power play goals.

St. Louis was finally awarded the Lady Byng Trophy for the 2009–10 NHL season (and only recorded 12 penalty minutes the entire season).^[4] St. Louis beat out Pavel Datsyuk, winner of the previous four Lady Byng Trophies, and former teammate Brad Richards, who won the award for the 2003–04 NHL season playing alongside St. Louis with the Tampa Bay Lightning during their Stanley Cup winning season.

St. Louis was named an assistant captain for team Lidstrom at the 2011 NHL All-Star Game. Martin competed in the fastest skater competition at the all star super skills competition, and also in the Discover Elimination Shoot-out game. The All-Star Game skills competition was won by the opponent team Eric Staal in Raleigh, North Carolina. He finished off the 2010-11 season by taking home his second straight the Lady Byng Trophy (again with only 12 penalty minutes), this time defeating Red Wings' veteran d-man Nicklas Lidstrom and Loui Eriksson of Dallas. St. Louis was also nominated for his second Hart Memorial Trophy, alongside countryman Corey Perry and 2011 Art Ross Trophy winner Daniel Sedin. Perry had had a late surge in the season and ended up with 50 goals, while Sedin was a huge part in the Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup run, and led the league in points. St. Louis ultimately lost to Perry.

Heading into the 2010-11 NHL season with the third-longest active streak in the league behind Calgary's Jay Bouwmeester (533 games) and Vancouver's Henrik Sedin (526), St. Louis was injured in practice when a stray shot from fellow Lightning player Dominic Moore accidentally sent a puck into his face. Unable to play that night, his streak ended at 499 consecutive games played.^[5]

Personal[link]

He and his wife Heather Caragol have three boys, Ryan (born June 13, 2003),^[6] Lucas (born March 30, 2005)^[7] and Mason (born January 2008).^[8]

Awards[link]

• ECAC All-Rookie Team — 1994
• ECAC All-Conference Team — 1994
• ECAC All-Star Team — 1995
• ECAC Player of the Year — 1995
• NCAA East First All-American Team — 1995
• ECAC All-Star Team — 1996
• NCAA East First All-American Team — 1996
• NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team — 1996
• ECAC All-Star Team — 1997
• NCAA East First All-American Team — 1997
• NHL SuperSkills Puck Control Relay Champion — 2003
• Played in 6 NHL All-Star Games — 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 (alternate captain)
• Bud Light Plus/Minus Award (Co-winner with Marek Malik) — 2004
• NHL First All-Star RW — 2004
• Art Ross Memorial Trophy — 2004
• Lester B. Pearson Award — 2004
• Hart Memorial Trophy — 2004
• Stanley Cup champion — 2004
• NHL Second All-Star RW — 2007, 2010, 2011
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy — 2010, 2011

Career statistics[link]

International play[link]

Played for Canada in:

• 2004 World Cup of Hockey (gold medal)
• 2006 Winter Olympics
• 2008 World Championships (silver medal)
• 2009 World Championships (silver medal)

International statistics[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Martin St. Louis's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Martin St. Louis at TSN.ca

Radko Gudas (born June 5, 1990) is a Czech professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Norfolk Admirals in the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 3rd round (66th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Gudas played in the Czech Extraliga with HC Kladno during the 2008–09 season.^[1]

Career statistics[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Radko Gudas's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
• Radko Gudas's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

This Czech biographical article relating to ice hockey is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Jarome Iginla
Born	(1977-07-01) July 1, 1977 (age 34) Edmonton, AB, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team	Calgary Flames
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	11th overall, 1995 Dallas Stars
Playing career	1996–present

Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla^[1][2] (pronounced /dʒəˈroʊm ɨˈɡɪnlə/; born July 1, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). A six-time NHL All-Star, he is the 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 was 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, has scored 500 goals and 1,000 points in his career and is one of seven players in NHL history to score 30 goals in 11 consecutive seasons. 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[link]

Iginla was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on 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.^[3] His surname means "Big tree" in Yoruba, his father's native language.^[4] 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.^[3] While his mother is a Buddhist, he identifies himself as Christian, his father's faith.^[5]

In addition to hockey, Iginla played baseball as a young man and was the catcher on the Canadian national junior team.^[4] 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.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[4]

Junior career[link]

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.^[8] The Blazers captured both the league title and the 1994 Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship.^[9] 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."^[10]

Iginla scored 33 goals and 71 points in 1994–95, his first full WHL season.^[8] 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.^[11]

The Dallas Stars selected Iginla with their first pick, 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.^[12]

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.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

NHL career[link]

Iginla warming up before a game in March 2006.

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.^[16] In his first NHL game, Iginla assisted on a Theoren Fleury goal to record his first point;^[17] he scored his first goal in his second game.^[18] 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.^[19]

By his third season, 1998–99, Iginla led the Flames in goals with 28.^[19] 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 1999–2000 season and missed the first three games as a holdout before signing a deal worth US$4.9 million, plus bonuses.^[19][20] 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.^[19]

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.^[21] He earned the Art Ross and Maurice Richard trophies as the NHL's leading point and goal scorer, respectively.^[19] 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.^[22] 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.^[23] 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.^[24] 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.^[25] Iginla fell back to 67 points in 2002–03 as injuries, including a lingering finger dislocation following a fight, diminished his play.^[26] His 35 goals were still enough to lead the Flames for the fourth time in five seasons.^[19] Despite his offensive contributions, the Flames missed the playoffs.^[27]

Captaincy[link]

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.^[28] 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."^[29] Iginla was reported to be the first black captain in NHL history,^[30] though former Blackhawks captain Dirk Graham, who is of African descent, has also been said to hold that honour.^[31]

Darryl Sutter presents Iginla with a silver stick in honour of his becoming the Flames all-time scoring leader.

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.^[32] The Flames qualified for the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the sixth seed, the team's first playoff appearance in eight years.^[33] 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."^[34]

While he was hailed as the best player in the world following his performance in the playoffs,^[35][36] Iginla spent the 2004–05 NHL lockout focused on improving his game further.^[37] 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.^[38]

On December 7, 2006, Iginla reached a career milestone when he scored his 300th career goal and 600th career point against the Minnesota Wild.^[39] He was expected to play in the 2007 NHL All-Star Game in Dallas; however he missed the game with a knee injury.^[40] The injury kept him out of 12 games in 2006–07. He nevertheless scored 94 points, including a career-high 55 assists.^[19]

The 2007–08 season saw Iginla post his second career 50 goal season, adding 48 assists for a career high 98 points,^[19] good for third overall in the league.^[42] He was voted to the starting line-up of the 2008 NHL All-Star Game along with teammate Dion Phaneuf,^[43] and was named captain of the Western All-Star Team.^[44] 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.^[19] 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.^[45] During the season, he signed a five-year contract extension with the Flames at $7 million per season.^[46]

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.^[47] 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.^[48] In January, he was named to the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, his fifth such selection.^[49] Representing the Western Conference, Iginla scored his first career NHL All-Star Game goal in a 12–11 shootout loss.^[50] 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.^[51] 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.^[52]