Looking back to December of 2002 and the triumphant career of Jarome Iginla

The Jarome Iginla of today is not the Jarome Iginla of yesterday. And that's ok.

No player, no matter his greatness, no matter the individual talent or accolades (or fantasy hockey championships) can remain elite forever. There will always come that time when forever early round picks (Heatley, Datsyuk,…etc) slip down into the mid-rounds, sometimes falling all the way to the end of your draft. Or in some rare cases being cast off to the waiver wire to wait patiently until some desperate manager takes a gamble part way through the year.

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What's amazing about Iginla is that he's found a way to stay relevant, even as he enters this season for Colorado at the age of 37. Most of his contemporaries have either retired, or long since begun the glorified walk towards the setting sun sitting on the skyline.

Not Iginla. Not yet anyway.

Part of the joy of fantasy hockey for me, and for a number of poolies, is getting to cheer for your favourite players. Even though your team is, in a sense, superficial (we of course aren't running a REAL hockey team), there is certain feeling that comes along with having guys on 'your' squad. For a decade, having Iginla meant not having to worry about your wingers – in any way. He quite literally did it all. In points only leagues he was regular threat for 90, having reached the mark on three occasions. In multi-category formats, few provided his coverage across the board – 35 or more goals, close to 300 shots, with 80 penalty minutes.

As a cherry on top of the metaphorical cake – he rarely missed any extended time with injury. In nine of his seasons Iignla managed to play 82 games. Never, over a 17 season career, did he play in less than 70 games. It's that kind of consistency that we all crave in fantasy. The ability to draft your roster and know, with little doubt, that this was your team.

When you drafted Iginla you know he'd be there. Always.