Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter CXXIII: 28-27

28. Alex Tanguay

Tanguay, a native of Sainte-Justine, Quebec, was born on November 21st, 1979. He is a 6’1″, 194 lb. left winger, and he was the first round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, with the 12th overall selection. He played two and a half seasons in the QMJHL with the Halifax Mooseheads, scoring 101 goals with 113 assists in 152 games. He made his professional debut near the end of the 1998-99 season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears (five games, one goal, two assists).

Tanguay joined the Avalanche for six full seasons starting in 1999-00. He scored 137 goals and 263 assists in 450 contests overall. His tenure there was interrupted only by the 2004-05 work stoppage, when Tanguay joined Lugano in Switzerland for six games, where he scored three goals and three assists.

The Avs traded Tanguay to the Flames for Jordan Leopold and a second round pick (Codey Burki) during the 2006 offseason. He played a team-leading 81 games with Calgary the following season, and placed second on the club with 81 points. He scored 22 goals on 107 shots with 59 assists. His plus-12 rating was good for fifth on the team, and he spent 44 minutes in the penalty box. He would play 17:50 per night and earn 8.2 point shares over the season, marking his best season with the Flames. He finished with multiple points 25 times, including a goal and two assists in a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on December 12th. Calgary finished the season at 43-29-10 before losing in the first round o the playoffs to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. Tanguay appeared in every contest, scoring a goal and three assists.

In 2007-08, Tanguay appeared in 79 games, playing for 18:46 per game mostly on the Flames’ top line. He was fifth on the club with 58 points, earned with 40 assists and 18 goals on 121 shots. He also ranked fifth on the team with a plus-11 rating, earning 48 penalty minutes. He scored two goals and an assist in a 5-3 win over the Wild on October 24th, a trick he repeated on March 10th in a 7-3 decision over the St. Louis Blues. Calgary made the playoffs on a 42-30-10 record before losing in seven games to the San Jose Sharks. Tanguay earned four assists through the series.

The Flames traded Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens during the 2008 offseason with a fifth round pick (Maxim Trunev) for a first round pick (Greg Nemisz) and a second round pick (Stefan Elliott). He played a season for the Habs (50 games, 16 goals, 25 assists) and one for the Tampa Bay Lightning (80 games, 10 goals, 27 assists). He signed a one season contract with the Flames through free agency for $1,700,000.

2010-11 would see Tanguay lead the Flames with 47 assists, adding 22 goals on 120 shots over his 79 appearances. He played 19:46 per night on a line with Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen. He posted an even rating and earned 24 penalty minutes, finishing second amongst the team’s skaters with 7.1 point shares. On 17 occasions he finished with more than one point. On February 5th, he scored twice with an assist in regulation, adding a shootout goal in a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings. March 1st, he scored the winning goal in the first period and added two assists in the third in a 6-0 win over the Blues. Calgary went 41-29-12 through the season.

In 2011-12 Tanguay entered the first year of a five-year, $17,500,000 contract. He was limited to 64 games, but still finished just two off the team lead with 36 assists. He scored 13 goals on 84 shots with a team leading plus-7 rating and 28 penalty minutes while playing 19:03 per game. On March 9th, he scored one goal and three assists in a 5-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets. The Flames went 37-29-16 and missed the playoffs.

Tanguay scored 11 goals on 44 shots in 2012-13, playing in 40 of the NHL’s lockout-shortened 48-game season. He also earned 16 assists, posted a minus-13 rating, and 22 penalty minutes. He scored a goal and an assist on January 21st in a 5-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Calgary finished at 19-25-4. Tanguay was traded by the Flames back to the Avalanche during the 2013 offseason with Cory Sarich for David Jones and Shane O’Brien. He played a grand total of 16 games for the Avs, scoring four times with seven assists.

All-Time Statline: 342 games, 86 goals, 198 assists, plus-17 rating, 166 penalty minutes, 29.59 point shares.

27. Robert Reichel

Robert Reichel, a native of Litvinov, Czechoslovakia, was born on June 25th, 1971. A 5’10", 180 lb. center, he was Calgary’s fourth round pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, 70th off the board. Before making the jump to North America, he played two seasons with his hometown club in the Czech league, totaling 66 goals and 53 assists in 96 contests.

1990-91 would see Reichel join the Flames without any time spent in the minor leagues. He scored 19 goals (including three game winners) on 131 shots with 22 assists, good for eighth on the team with 41 overall points. He earned a plus-17 rating and 22 penalty minutes. The Flames finished 46-26-8 before losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. Reichel contributed one goal and one assist while appearing in six of the games.

In 1991-92, Reichel appeared 77 times for the 31-37-12 Flames. He was seventh on the club in scoring, with 20 goals on 181 shots and 34 helpers for 54 overall points. He also finished with a plus-1 rating and 32 penalty minutes.

In 1992-93, Reichel’s offensive game exploded for a team-second 88 points. He scored 40 goals on 238 shots with 48 assists, a team-third plus-25 rating, and earned 54 penalty minutes. He also collected five game winners on the season. He was one of three Flames to tie for third on the team with 8.1 point shares (It was a good year, Gary Suter and Mike Vernon had 9.9, and Theoren Fleury and Gary Roberts tied Reichel’s total). Calgary’s 43-30-11 record was good enough to earn them a second place finish in the Smythe Division. They lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. Reichel totaled two goals and four assists.

1993-94 would see Reichel lead the club with a career high 93 points. For the second year in a row, he finished with exactly 40 goals, scored on 249 shots. He added a team-best 53 assists, posted a plus-20 rating, and spend 58 minutes in quiet contemplation on his transgressions. Six of his markers proved to be game clinching goals. Calgary finished the season 13 games above .500, at a Pacific Division clinching 42-29-13. They lost in the first round to the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. Reichel earned five assists through the postseason, going scoreless on 24 shots.

When the first half of the 1994-95 season was cancelled, Reichel signed on with the Frankfurt Lions in Germany, where he scored 19 goals and 24 assists in 21 games. He rejoined Calgary to play in all 48 games when the season finally started. He scored 18 goals on 160 shots with 17 assists, a minus-2 rating and 28 penalty minutes to show for his efforts. The team went 24-17-7, then lost in the first round to the San Jose Sharks. Reichel pitched in with a pair of goals and four assists in the seven games series.

1995-96 would see Reichel and the Flames locked up in a contract dispute. Reichel decided to rejoin Frankfurt, and scored 47 goals and 54 assists in 46 contests. He finally signed with Calgary for the 1996-97 season, a three-year, $4,400,000 contract. After putting up 16 goals and 27 assists over 70 games, the Flames traded him to the New York Islanders for Marty McInnis, Tyrone Garner, and a sixth round pick (Ilja Demidov). Reichel played parted of three seasons with the Isles (164 games, 49 goals, 91 assists) before appearing in 13 games for the Phoenix Coyotes (seven goals, six assists).

Reichel rejoined Litinov in Switzerland for two seasons starting in 1999-00 (94 games, 48 goals, 65 assists). He came back to the NHL to play three seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs (228 games, 43 goals, 80 assists). He then left the Western Hemisphere for good, again rejoining Litinov. He played six seasons with them in his third tour with the club, collecting 96 goals and 132 assists in 286 contests.

All-Time Statline: 425 games, 153 goals, 201 assists, plus-59 rating, 216 penalty minutes, 30.72 point shares.

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by Kevin Kraczkowski