Flames Best #28 Of All Time: Robyn Regehr

Our best #28 in Flames history didn’t have the easiest start to his NHL career and it wasn’t the long road through the minors that set him back. Robyn Regehr was the “player to be named later” in the Flames and Avalanche deal that sent Calgary legend Theo Fleury to Colorado in 1999. Prior to the start of the 1999 season, Regehr was involved in a horrible car accident and broke both of his legs, completely derailing the start of his career. As you can probably guess, he miraculously overcame those odds seeing he’s listed as the best #28 in Flames history.

After the accident Regehr would make his NHL debut with the Flames during the 1999-200 season and become a mainstay on the Flames blue line for 11 years. Coming into the NHL, Regehr was known as a player with great offensive potential, but he never piled up points as predicted. His best offensive season would come in 2005-06 where he would play in 68 games and collect 26 points (6G-20A) on his way to his first ever Norris Trophy nomination.

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

It’s too bad the NHL didn’t start tracking blocked shots until the mid 2000’s because Regehr was a master at it. From 2007-10 he would block 400 shots, with his 142 in 2010-11 being the second most on the team behind Mark Giordano’s 193. Besides being a shot blocking defenceman, Regehr was also a very physical player. At 6’3 and 220 lb, Regehr threw tons of checks and rattled players all over the league. He would never have a season with under 100 body checks with the Flames, again, once the NHL started keeping those stats in 2007-08. His 180 hits during the 2010-11 season were tops on the club and he would finish in the top five every season on the team. Despite all that physicality, he was never a penalty nightmare, as Regehr would only collect 802 minutes worth of time in the box over his 11 years with the Flames. As a matter of fact, his biggest PIM total for a season was 93 in 2000-01.

While not his best statistical regular season in 2003-04, Robyn Regehr was one of the Flames who propelled Calgary to the Stanley Cup Finals. He would play in all 82 games, score four goals and tally up 14 assists all while being a +14. He would save his best play for the post season that year, playing in 27 games, scoring twice and dishing out nine assists. Of those nine, three would come in the Stanley Cup Finals, which the Flames would lose 4-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Robyn Regehr’s time in Calgary was filled with nagging injuries and even with that in mind, he passed Al MacInnis for the most games played by a defenceman in Flames history with 804 during the 2010-11 season. With younger talent coming up and more attractive free agents on the market, Calgary traded the popular player to the Buffalo Sabres before the 2011-12 season and he would play two seasons there before heading to LA to play with the Kings and winning his first and only Stanley Cup of his career in 2014. His final season would in 2014-15 with the Kings where he was still a productive player, yet Regehr chose to retire after 15 NHL seasons.

With the Flames, Regehr would play in 826 games over those 11 years, score 29 goals and hand out 134 assists. He is third all time in games played with the franchise, was twice a Norris Trophy nominee and a nominee for the Masterton Trophy in his rookie year. He is also one of only two players to be born in Brazil to play in the NHL.

Other Players Having Worn #28 In Flames History

Pat Ribble (1982-83), Gary McAdam (1982), Charlie Bourgeois (1984-86), Dale DeGray (1987), Bob Bodak (1988), Paul Ranheim (1990-94), Barry Nieckar (1995), Larry Esau (1995), Marty Murray (1996-98), Bob Bassen (1999), Lane McDermid (2014), Corey Potter (2015), Emile Poirier (2016), Elias Lindholm (2019-20)

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