Calgary Flames 44 Days Until the Season Starts: #44 Rob Niedermayer

With 44 days left until the regular season starts up again, let’s take a look at a former Calgary Flames player with that number.

Since the start of August, we’re counting down the number of days left until the regular season starts up again! Everyday until the start of the season, we’ll be talking about a Calgary Flames player whose number correlates with how many days there are left.

Yesterday we talked about a player who hasn’t been playing in the NHL anymore, but he’s still playing overseas in Austria. So we may be seeing him at the Olympics, with NHL players not being able to go. But yes, we’re talking about #45 Jamie Lundmark.

Today, let’s look at a player who was drafted before I was even born. With 44 days left until the regular season starts up again, let’s look at #44 Rob Niedermayer.

Who is Rob Niedermayer?

Name: Robert Wade Niedermayer Jr.

Birth place: Cassiar, BC, Canada

Position: C

Shoots: Left

Birthdate: 1974-12-28

Height: 6’2” / 188 cm

Weight: 93 kg / 204 lbs

Drafted by: Florida Panthers, 5th Overall 1993

Stats with all NHL teams, regular season:

Rob Niedermayer, as we can see with these stats above, had quite the long career. It did start off slow in his first couple of seasons after being drafted by the Florida Panthers, but he finally picked things up in the 1995-96 season. He set a career high in both goals and points and it would for the rest of his career be the highest. He had 26 goals and 61 points that year which was second on the Panthers in both categories.

And what happened that year? The Panthers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history (and they have yet to reach that point again). Unfortunately, they were swept in the finals, but nonetheless, they were conference champs.

Unfortunately for Niedermayer, he suffered a concussion the following season and he would never fully recover to his full potential. He may have played over a thousand NHL games, but he never reached that career high he achieved then. Which is very unfortunate because he was still in his early twenties when he was dealing with head injuries.

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Niedermayer was traded to the Calgary Flames in 2001 during the off-season before the 01-02 season would start, but he would only spend about a year and a half with the club. He managed 38 points in 111 games with the team. The following season on March 11th 2003, he was traded to Anaheim (they were the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at the time). That year, the Ducks also made it to the Stanley Cup Finals (but no Cup). Actually, in those finals, he played against his brother, Scott Niedermayer. Man, that must have been a tough choice for their parents, hey?

They became the first brother duo to play against each other in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1946. Well, it’s a good thing that it’s so rare because if I was a parent of two brothers against each other in the Finals, my head would explode.

Rob stayed with the team for over five years.

Now, if I’m good at math, that means he stayed with them for at least until the 2008-09 season… which means… Oh! That’s right! He’s a Stanley Cup Champion. The Anaheim Ducks (they decided that Ducks aren’t mighty and changed their franchise name) won the cup in 2007. But something else happened just a couple of seasons before.

If you hear the name “Niedermayer”, his brother’s name is usually who most people think of first, like I mentioned above. Scott Niedermayer was drafted two years prior to his brother, and in 2005, he signed with the Ducks as a free agent. Looks like they don’t have to stress their parents out anymore! They would now be playing for the same team. And something else neat, but they would end up winning the Cup together in 2007.

ANAHEIM, CA – JUNE 09: The Stanley Cup is delivered to the Honda Center in a helicopter by Rob Niedermayer. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

They also became the first brother duo to win the Stanley Cup together since Brent and Duane Sutter in 1982 (and 83). Phew, I’m glad that one’s more common than playing against each other.

Rob went on to play for the New Jersey Devils, the Buffalo Sabres, and even a team in Switzerland, before he finally decided to hang up his skates in 2012.

Next: Sean Monahan Named to Top 20 Best Centers List

Rob may not have had a career like his brothers, but at least he still has his name forever implanted in the Stanley Cup to show for it.

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