On this day 29 years ago: The Flames traded Joe Nieuwendyk for Jarome Iginla

Nieuwendyk was a great player in his own right. Before the trade, he played nine seasons with the Flames where he scored 314 goals and 616 points in 577 games, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 1989. After the trade, he won two more Stanley Cups, one with the Stars in 1999 and one with the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

However, the Flames traded him after a contract holdout, acquiring Iginla. The winger was selected 11th overall by the Flames in the 1995 draft but never played for the team that drafted him. Iginla made his National Hockey League debut in the 1996 postseason, scoring a goal and an assist in two games.

He became a regular for the Flames in 1996-97, scoring 21 goals and 50 points in 82 games during his rookie season, finishing second in Calder Memorial Trophy voting to Bryan Berard. Iginla became one of the league’s elite players in 2001-02, as he scored a league-leading 52 goals and 96 points, finishing second in Hart Memorial Trophy voting. Two years later in 2003-04, he led the league with 41 goals, finishing second in the Hart Memorial Trophy voting again.

After missing the post-season from the 1996-97 season until 2002-03, the Flames made the playoffs in 2004. You know the story, they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, the puck crossed the line, but it wasn’t called a goal and the Tampa Bay Lightning eventually won the Stanley Cup. In that run, Iginla scored 13 goals and 22 points.

Iginla had another 50-goal season in 2007-08 with a career-high 98 points. His final full season with the Flames was in 2011-12, scoring 32 goals and 67 points. During the 2012-13 season, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he scored five goals and 11 points in 13 games. In their post-season run, Iginla scored four goals and 12 points in 15 games.

Over the course of his last four seasons, he played with the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, and Los Angeles Kings, scoring 95 goals and 194 points in 322 games. His last chance to win the Stanley Cup was in 2013-14 with the Bruins, scoring five goals and seven points in 12 games.

The Flames traded one Hall of Famer for another, younger Hall of Famer. Safe to say it worked out for both teams.