Top 40 Calgary Flames: #26 Daymond Langkow

This coming May is the 40th anniversary of the Atlanta Flames moving to Calgary. To commemorate this occasion, we’re counting down the Top 40 Calgary Flames in history.

Coming in at #26 is Daymond Langkow.

Once upon a time, the Flames nearly won a second Stanley Cup. It was a whole thing. Before the 2004-05 lockout wiped out that season, Craig Conroy signed with Los Angeles. After the requisite mourning period for losing the top center on the team, Darryl Sutter traded for Langkow.

Langkow’s gig was the same as Conroy’s: handle the defensive heavy lifting so Jarome Iginla can be Jarome Iginla. (That plan worked well in the 2004 playoffs.) Langkow clicked right away and the Flames won the division in his first season. He had some of his best offensive seasons with the Flames and he performed well enough that he received votes for both the Selke and Lady Byng trophies.

Alas, his play fell off a bit through a combination of age and injury. A neck injury limited him to just four games in 2010-11. He was swapped to Phoenix, where he played one last season and then retired.

The 2004-05 lost season was a shame for a lot of reasons, but it’s hard not to get wistful at the idea of another season of in-his-prime Langkow centering in-his-prime Iginla. For all he accomplished as the team’s top center – four straight playoff seasons – Langkow clocks in at #26.

Top 40 Calgary Flames: HM Martin Gelinas | #40 Brad Marsh | #39 Matt Stajan | #38 Jiri Hudler | #37 Dion Phaneuf | #36 Guy Chouinard | #35 Phil Housley | #34 Matthew Tkachuk | #33 Cory Stillman | #32 Curtis Glencross | #31 Jamie Macoun | #30 Carey Wilson | #29 Reggie Lemelin | #28 TJ Brodie | #27 Alex Tanguay