Daymond Langkow

Daymond Randolph Langkow (born September 27, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A centre, he was the fifth overall selection of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 1995 NHL entry draft. He played junior hockey with the Tri-City Americans in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and is their franchise record holder for career goals at 159. He won the Bob Clarke Trophy in 1995 as the WHL scoring leader with 140 points, and competed with the Canadian junior team at the 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where he won a gold medal.

Langkow made his NHL debut in 1995 with the Lightning, and also played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes and Calgary Flames. He has scored 30 goals twice in his career, both with the Flames, and scored more than 50 points in eight consecutive seasons between 1999 and 2008. He was a nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 1997 and has played over 1,000 games in the NHL. His older brother, Scott, was also a professional hockey player.

Playing career

Junior Langkow was selected by the Tri-City Americans in the second round of the 1991 Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft. He completed the 1991–92 season with the Edmonton Pats of the Alberta Midget Hockey League, scoring 81 points in 35 games while appearing in one game with the Americans as a 15-year-old. He joined Tri-City full-time in 1992–93, scoring 22 goals and 64 points in 64 games and improved to 40 goals and 83 points in 1993–94. and was named to the WHL West and Canadian Hockey League First All-Star Teams.

The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Langkow fifth overall in the 1995 NHL entry draft. On the eve of the 1995–96 season, the Lightning signed him to a three-year, $2.4 million contract. He made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut on October 7, 1995, against the Calgary Flames. Langkow appeared in four games with the Lightning before he was returned to Tri-City. Langkow represented Canada at the 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where he won a gold medal. He missed seven games and lost $63,000 in salary before the Lightning relented and recalled him to finish the season in Tampa. Langkow was assigned to the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League to begin the 1998–99 season amidst trade rumours but was recalled after four games. He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers along with Mikael Renberg on December 12, 1998, in exchange for Chris Gratton and Mike Sillinger.

While he was considered a throw-in for the Flyers who made the trade to re-acquire Renberg, Langkow flourished in Philadelphia. He finished the season with 14 goals combined between Tampa and Philadelphia, and his development as a playmaking centre earned him the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial from his teammates as the Flyers' most improved player. He set new personal highs in goals and assists in 1999–2000, finishing with 50 points and helping the Flyers reach the Eastern Conference Final in the 2000 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Langkow improved to 54 points in the 2000–01 season. Unable to agree on a contract, Langkow and the Coyotes went to arbitration where he was awarded a two-year contract worth $4.2 million. He made an immediate impact with Phoenix, scoring his first career hat trick in a 5–2 victory over the Washington Capitals in the Coyotes' home opener. He finished the 2001–02 season as the team leader with 62 points. He finished second in team scoring with 52 points, and served as an alternate captain for the Coyotes during the 2003–04 season. but dealt him to the Calgary Flames less than two weeks later for Oleg Saprykin and Denis Gauthier. The season, and the contract, were wiped out by the 2004–05 NHL lockout; Langkow did not play anywhere during the lost season. He finished the season second on the Flames in both goals (25) and points (59) and recorded his sixth consecutive season with 50+ points. He reached the 30-goal mark (33) for the first time in his career, finished with a career-high 77 points and was the Flames nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for dedication and sportsmanship. Langkow remained a top two-way forward for the Flames in 2007–08, recording his second consecutive 30-goal season and finishing third on the team with 65 points.

Langkow scored only 49 points in 2008–09 and missed ten games as result of a hand injury. He suffered another hand injury in the 2009 playoffs, though he still played all six games against the Chicago Blackhawks.

He played his 1,000th game, against his former club, the Tampa Bay Lightning, on February 6, 2010, one night after teammate Jarome Iginla reached the same mark. His offensive numbers continued to decline, as he finished the year with 14 goals and 37 points, his lowest totals in a decade. He missed the final ten games of the season after he was struck in the back of the neck by a slapshot during a game against the Minnesota Wild on March 21, resulting in a spinal cord injury.

His efforts to return to the Flames lineup suffered a setback in late October 2010, shortly after the 2010–11 season began earlier in the month, after which a Flames official stated it was a "50/50 proposition" on whether he would ever play another NHL game. Following several months of rehabilitation, Langkow was cleared for light skating by a neck specialist, allowing him to begin practicing with his Flames teammates at the end of February 26, 2011, though he was still considered 2–3 months away from being able to continue his career. He joined the Flames for full practices a couple weeks later, and by March 19 – nearly one year to the day of his injury – Langkow expressed hope that he would be able to return to action prior to the end of the season. That hope became reality late in the year as he was activated off injured reserve by the Flames, who announced he would return to the lineup for an April 1 game against the St. Louis Blues, 376 days and 88 games after he suffered the injury. In the final four games after missing the first 78 games, he was goalless and had an assist for one point as the Flames narrowly missed the playoffs, missing by three points. For his efforts at coming back from injury despite the Flames missing the playoffs for the second year in a row, Langkow was a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy that was ultimately won by Ian Laperriere of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Phoenix The Phoenix Coyotes re-acquired Langkow on August 29, 2011, in exchange for forward Lee Stempniak During the 2011–12 season, Langkow missed seven games in November after his mother died suddenly at the age of 54. On July 7, 2013, Langkow announced his retirement.

Personal life Langkow is the second child of Randy and Vivian Langkow and grew up in Vegreville, Alberta. His parents divorced when he was ten years old. His father is a plumber in Edmonton, while his mother managed a restaurant in British Columbia prior to her November 2011 death.

Langkow's son, Colton Langkow, currently plays in the Western Hockey League for the Vancouver Giants.

Langkow's older brother, Scott was a goaltender who played 20 NHL games for the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes and Atlanta Thrashers.

He also has a younger cousin, Chris Langkow, who is an ECHL All-Star and a Kelly Cup champion with the Alaska Aces, whom he frequently mentors and often gives advice.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1991–92 Tri-City Americans WHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1992–93 Tri-City Americans WHL 65 22 42 64 96 4 1 0 1 4 1993–94 Tri-City Americans WHL 61 40 43 83 174 4 2 2 4 15 1994–95 Tri-City Americans WHL 72 67 73 140 142 17 12 15 27 52 1995–96 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1995–96 Tri-City Americans WHL 48 30 61 91 103 11 14 13 27 20 1996–97 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 2 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 1996–97 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 79 15 13 28 35 — — — — — 1997–98 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 68 8 14 22 62 — — — — — 1998–99 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 4 1 1 2 18 — — — — — 1998–99 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 22 4 6 10 15 — — — — — 1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 56 10 13 23 24 6 0 2 2 2 1999–00 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 18 32 50 56 16 5 5 10 23 2000–01 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 71 13 41 54 50 6 2 4 6 2 2001–02 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 80 27 35 62 36 5 1 0 1 0 2002–03 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 20 32 52 56 — — — — — 2003–04 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 81 21 31 52 40 — — — — — 2005–06 Calgary Flames NHL 82 25 34 59 46 7 1 5 6 6 2006–07 Calgary Flames NHL 81 33 44 77 44 6 2 2 4 4 2007–08 Calgary Flames NHL 80 30 35 65 19 7 3 2 5 0 2008–09 Calgary Flames NHL 73 21 28 49 20 6 0 3 3 2 2009–10 Calgary Flames NHL 72 14 23 37 30 — — — — — 2010–11 Calgary Flames NHL 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2011–12 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 73 11 19 30 14 16 1 6 7 4 NHL totals 1,090 270 402 672 547 75 15 29 44 43

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1996 Canada WJC 5 3 3 6 2 Junior totals 5 3 3 5 2

Awards and honours

Award Year RefJunior Bob Clarke Trophy 1994–95 CHL First Team All-Star 1994–95 WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team 1995–96 Philadelphia Flyers Pelle Lindbergh Memorial 1998–99 Calgary Flames J. R. "Bud" McCaig Award 2009–10