The NHL announced the Calgary Flames Team of the Quarter Century on January 11, featuring several memorable names from franchise history.
Today we want to return to Dion Phaneuf‘s tenure at the club and review his credentials to make the Flames first team.
The Flames selected Edmonton-born Phaneuf ninth overall in the 2003 draft to the Red Deer Rebels. He made his debut in 2005-06, scoring 20 goals as a rookie defender. He finished the year with 49 points in 82 games with 93 penalty minutes to earn All-Rookie team honors, finishing third in Calder Trophy voting.
Although Phaneuf seemed to have crushed the Flames’ opponents for a decade, he only skated with the organization for four and a half seasons.
From 2005 until his trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 31, 2010, Phaneuf never scored fewer than 47 points in a season and scored 17 goals in consecutive years in 2006-07 and 2007- 08.
Phaneuf has reached at least double figures in goals every year with over 30 assists while collecting over 100 penalty minutes in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
During his time in Calgary, he garnered votes for the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, finishing second in 2007-08, the same year he was selected to the NHL All-Star team (1st team).
Despite playing with an edge to his game, Phaneuf missed six games in southern Alberta, earning two NHL All-Star Game appearances in 2007 and 2008.
Phaneuf spent four and a half seasons with the Flames. Here are his totals and ranking among players over the last 25 years:
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Games played: 378 (19th)
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Goals: 75 (15th)
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Help: 153 (13th)
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Points: 228 (13th)
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More/Less: Plus-19 (25th)
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Penalty minutes: 522 (4th)
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Shots: 878 (2nd)
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Blocks: 411 (12th)
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Average ice time: 24h43 (3rd)
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Rewards: None
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All-Star Games: 2007, 2008
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Honors: NHL All-Star Team (2006), NHL All-Star Team – 1st (2008)
The Flames traded Phaneuf along with Keith Aulie and Frederik Sjöström in exchange for Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, Matt Stajan and Ian White. He played seven seasons with the Original Six franchise, serving six years as captain.
However, it became among rare NHL captains traded during their tenure, as the Maple Leafs traded him to the Ottawa Senators on February 9, 2016. He played in the Canadian capital for three seasons before another trade sent him to the Los Angeles Kings in 2018.
At age 33, Phaneuf announced his retirement from the NHL following the 2018-19 season.
Although he spent less than five seasons with the Flames, Phaneuf is Calgary’s eighth highest-scoring defenseman, with 228 points in 378 games.
Related: Flames First Team of the Quarter Century: Jarome Iginla
Related: First Flames Team of the Quarter Century: Johnny Gaudreau
