With 2025 on the horizon, we’ve nearly hit 25 years of Calgary Flames hockey in the 21st century. There’s been plenty of highs and lows across the past 25 years in Calgary, with numerous players making impacts along the way.
All said, the Flames have had a total of 206 forwards, 104 defencemen, and 34 goalies play for them since the 2000–01 season. Among that group, we’ve put together a lineup of the very best Flames to play for the team in the 21st century thus far.
Forwards
Line 1: Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jarome Iginla (C)
The first line was the easiest to make. All three of these players are leaps and bounds above any other player at their position since the turn of the century. Jarome Iginla needs no explanation. The greatest player in franchise history was a staple on the team’s top line for most of the 2000s and into the early 2010s before being dealt in 2012. He leads all Flames in goals, points, and assists since 2000. The Flames have been searching for a right wing replacement since the day he left.
Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau were the team’s most dynamic and successful duo of the 2000s. The two played together for parts of eight years and, for multiple seasons, were mainstays on the team’s top line.
Picked sixth overall in 2013, Monahan was with the organization for nine years before being traded. In those nine years, he totaled the most goals and game-winning goals of any Flames centre since 2000 and the second most assists and points. At his peak, he was and still remains the only bonafide top-line centre the Flames have had in the past 24 years.
Gaudreau, meanwhile, is the only player since 2000 that could come close to matching Iginla’s overall impact in Calgary. After making his debut in 2013, he’d spend eight seasons as a Flame, totaling the second most assists and points among all Flames since the turn of the century. He’s also the only Flame since 2000 to be above a point per game during his time in Calgary. His 115-point 2021–22 season is a franchise-best since 2000. No left wing over the past 24 years has come anywhere close to matching what Gaudreau accomplished as a Flame.
Line 2: Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Elias Lindholm
Much like the first line, the second line was easy to construct. All three players were below the top group in terms of impact at their position but clearly ahead of everyone else since 2000.
Mikael Backlund may not have had a huge offensive impact in Calgary, but he’s been the most consistent centre the franchise has seen in the 21st century after being drafted in 2008. He’s currently in his franchise-record 17th season with the team and ranks first for games played among Flames since 2000. He’s also first for assists and points among Flames centres since 2000.
At left wing, Matthew Tkachuk was the only choice. His time in Calgary came to a less-than-ideal end, but he was one of the most impactful Flames of the 2000s, even though he was only around for six seasons. He ranks third for points, goals, and assists among Flames wingers since 2000, behind only Gaudreau and Iginla in all three categories. His antics on the ice also made him one of the most memorable fan favourites the franchise has ever seen.
Lastly, Elias Lindholm slides to the right wing to complete the second line. He may have only spent a couple seasons as a right winger in Calgary, but he was the closest the Flames ever came to replacing Iginla’s spot. Lindholm was a mainstay on the top line at either right wing or centre for pretty much all six seasons in Calgary. He was a key piece on the Flames’ two most dominant lines of the 2000s in 2018–19 and 2021–22 and ranks sixth for goals and points among Flames forwards, and seventh for assists since 2000.
Line 3: Alex Tanguay – Craig Conroy – Jiri Hudler
This is where it starts to get interesting. Picking the bottom six was a struggle with how many good, not great players the Flames have had over the years. After some debate back and forth, I landed on the above three names.
Craig Conroy was the easiest choice of the three, as the clear third-best centre the organization has had in the 2000s. Among Flames centres, Conroy ranks third for assists, fifth for goals, and fourth for points in the 21st century. He also served as captain for a short time. With Lindholm on the wing, Conroy was the easy choice for the third line.
The wingers were much more difficult to select. I swapped out a few names here before landing on two offensive weapons in Alex Tanguay and Jiri Hudler. Tanguay had a couple stints in Calgary, with both bringing some success. In particular, his 81 points in 2006–07 remains one of the best seasons by a Flames winger in the 2000s. Overall, he ranks fourth among Flames wingers in assists and points since 2000 and deserves more recognition for his impact in Calgary.
Hudler just narrowly earned the last spot on the third line, with his tremendous 2014–15 season giving him the edge over the other options. Despite playing in Calgary for just four seasons, Hudler led the team in scoring twice. The aforementioned 2014–15 season saw him post 76 points on the Flames’ top line with Gaudreau and Monahan to lead the team back to the playoffs. Even though he only spent four seasons in Calgary, he made a pretty significant impact in a short amount of time.
Line 4: Mike Cammalleri – Daymond Langkow – Kristian Huselius
The fourth line is composed of a trio of forwards who made their time in Calgary memorable for different reasons. Mike Cammalleri spent two different stretches in Calgary, but he was effective for all four seasons as a Flame. In particular, his 82-point 2008–09 season remains the best season by a Flames winger not named Iginla, Gaudreau, or Tkachuk since 2000. Overall, he ranks seventh among Flames forwards in points per game since 2000.
At centre, I have the always-trusty Daymond Langkow. Langkow wasn’t known for racking up points, but he was as dependable as they come. Throughout his six years in Calgary, he could always be counted on for strong play down the middle. His peak came during his 77-point 2006–07 season, which to this day is the highest single-season point total by a Flames centre not named Monahan or Lindholm in the 21st century.
Lastly, the vastly underrated Kristian Huselius takes the final forward spot. Huselius never got the credit he deserved for being an analytical darling before that was a thing. Huselius was a beast during his short tenure in Calgary, totaling 182 points in only 216 games. In fact, Huselius ranks fifth among Flames forwards for points per game in the 21st century at 0.84. It’s a shame he was only around for three years, but he undoubtedly deserves a spot in this lineup.
Defence
Top pairing: Mark Giordano (A) – T.J. Brodie
When you think of Flames defenders of the 2000s, Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie immediately come to mind as the most prominent duo the team had. Giordano is, of course, the second longest-serving captain in franchise history and ranks tops among all Flames defenders in games played, goals, assists, and points since 2000. He’s also the only defender in team history to win a Norris trophy for his tremendous 2018–19 season. His 74 points that season are easily the best total by a Flames defender in the 21st century. Giordano is, without a doubt, the best Flames defenceman of the 21st century thus far.
Beside him is his long-time partner, T.J. Brodie. Brodie ranks second for games played, assists, and points among Flames defenders since 2000 and spent 10 seasons as a Flame after being drafted in 2008. Brodie was never an elite talent, but he was incredibly consistent and was a mainstay in the Flames’ top four for most of the 2010s. He flew under the radar behind Giordano, but he deserves a ton of credit for his play as a Flame.
Second pairing: Dion Phaneuf – Robyn Regehr (A)
After the top pairing, this duo is easily the most memorable Flames defenders of the 2000s. Robyn Regehr was never a point producer, but he was a classic shutdown defender and a mainstay in the Flames’ top four for a decade. One of the key pieces of the 2004 Stanley Cup run and an alternate captain for six years, Regehr was the definition of a warrior and a leader on the backend. His 769 games played in Calgary are the second most by a Flames defender in franchise history—behind only Giordano—and no one will forget his time as a Flame.
Dion Phaneuf may have had the polar opposite tenure in Calgary compared to Regehr, but boy, was it special. Phaneuf only spent five years in Calgary, but he certainly made them count. His physical play, combined with his high-octane offence, made him a fan favourite right out of the gate. His 60-point 2007-08 season remains the second-best by a Flames defender in the 21st century and earned him a Norris runner-up spot. Overall, he ranks second among Flames defenders for goals and third for points since 2000 despite only playing 378 games in Calgary.
Third pairing: Chris Tanev – Rasmus Andersson
Rounding out the defence group is a pair of more recent Flames defenders who have made a big impact in Calgary. Rasmus Andersson is the only active Flames defender who made this lineup, and deservedly so. Andersson has already spent nine years and counting in Calgary and currently ranks fourth for games played and points among Flames defenders since 2000, as well as third for assists. If he signs a long-term extension in Calgary, there’s a chance he passes Giordano in a number of categories when it’s all said and done.
Beside him, I’ve got Chris Tanev. Tanev only spent four years in Calgary, but in every single one of them, he was one of the league’s very best defensive defenders. Tanev was straight-up elite at preventing chances throughout his time in Calgary and was a mainstay in their top four every year he spent as a Flame. He really didn’t have a single low point in Calgary and was the backbone of the Flames’ defence for four seasons.
Goaltenders
Miikka Kiprusoff – Jacob Markstrom
Miikka Kiprusoff was the easiest pick on this entire roster. No goaltender comes anywhere close to matching his achievements in Calgary. Kiprusoff ranks first for games played, wins, playoff wins, shutouts, save percentage, and goals against average among Flames goaltenders since 2000. His play in the 2003–04 season remains one of the greatest goaltending seasons in franchise history. In 2005–06, he became the first and only Flames goaltender to ever win the Vezina trophy. Enough said.
His backup was also quite easy to select. Jacob Markstrom easily surpassed any other Flames goaltender of the 2000s despite only spending four years in Calgary. He ranks second behind Kiprusoff in games played, wins, and shutouts among Flames goaltenders since 2000, and no one was particularly close. He also nearly became the second-ever Vezina winner in franchise history when he was named the runner-up for the award in 2021–22.
