A history of Flames numbers: #28, Emile Poirier

Personally, I’m of the opinion the #28 should not be worn again. Maybe not retired, but kind of have a thing going on like #14 does. I still remember when the Flames traded Robyn Regehr for Chris Butler, and Butler was originally given #28, and he voiced his objection to it, thinking it not a great idea. He was probably right.

A couple of years later, though, it appeared again, if only briefly. And again, briefly. And now Emile Poirier has it. He still has two years left on his entry level deal, so he’ll probably keep that number a little longer yet – and he’s still got plenty of time to prove he’s earned it instead of his initial training camp #57.

Poirier is the 14th player in Flames franchise history to ever wear #28:

It looks like the number has mostly been traded back and forth between defencemen and left wingers, with a couple of centres sneaking in there. Plus Poirier, whom every single site seems eager to list as a lefty, even though he’s mostly played on the right side.

McAdam has the points per game advantage, Ranheim has the points advantage, but I just have to go with Regehr. Only one other guy has played more games for the Calgary Flames than he has, and that was Jarome Iginla. Regehr was there almost every other step of the way, though, and even though he wasn’t a particularly great scorer, he’s still fourth on this list, and the highest-scoring defenceman. Sure, he needed over 1,000 games to get it, but considering the accident before his career even began and the style he played, 1,000 is a hell of an accomplishment.

Poirier probably isn’t ever going to reach quite those levels, though it would be nice if he could put his name in the conversation, if #28 is truly his now.