Hockey Canada president: Iginla needs to play for shot at Olympic team

Jarome Iginla won't crack Canada's Olympic roster solely on merit.

If the 40-year-old wants to play at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea, he'll need to hit the ice sooner rather than later, according to Hockey Canada president Tom Renney.

"As good a player as Jarome has been, as good a man as he is, if he’s not playing, it’s hard to give yourself opportunity for a fair evaluation, quite honestly, of what he might be able to do in the Olympic Games," Renney said Wednesday, per Luke Fox of Sportsnet.

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Iginla went unsigned as an unrestricted free agent during the offseason and is believed to have recently undergone a procedure on his hip.

Canada is set to play at a pre-tournament later this month in Finland, with another set for mid-December in Russia. If Iginla does want to play, one would assume he'd need to make that trip.

Iginla appeared in 80 games last season with Colorado and Los Angeles, recording 14 goals and 13 assists. He last played for Canada at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.