April 7, 2002: Iginla reaches 50 goals in a season for the first time in his NHL career when he scores at 19:41 of the first period against the Blackhawks. He scores again in the 3-2 loss at Chicago and into an empty net five nights later at the Edmonton Oilers, finishing 2001-02 as the NHL leader in goals (52) and points (96). He is voted to the NHL First All-Star Team and wins the Lester B. Pearson (now Ted Lindsay) Award as most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by his peers. Despite Iginla's breakout performance, the Flames miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
Oct. 8, 2003: Iginla becomes the 19th captain in Flames history, succeeding Bob Boughner and Craig Conroy, co-captains since Feb. 4, 2002.
April 4, 2004: A goal in Calgary's regular-season finale, at the Anaheim Ducks, is Iginla's 41st, giving him a share of the Rocket Richard Trophy as NHL goals leader with Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers and Rick Nash of the Blue Jackets. The Flames finish 42-30-3 with seven ties and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1996.
June 3, 2004: Iginla scores his NHL-high 13th goal of the 2004 playoffs, and the visiting Flames defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in overtime in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. However, they lose 3-2 in the second overtime in Game 6 in Calgary two nights later and 2-1 in Game 7 in Tampa on June 7. It is the only time in Iginla's career that he reaches the Final.