Darren Langdon’s pedigree as a hockey pugilist came from collecting a league record 429 penalty minutes in 1992-93 with the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL (record has since been eclipsed). Even better, he managed to do it in only 54 games. He also collected another 40 PIM that year in three playoff games. With the Hurricanes he held down the enforcer role from 2000-01 until partly into the 2002-03 season when he was traded to Vancouver. In that timeframe, he played 121 games in a Hurricanes uniform and picked up 216 penalty minutes. As is ironically often the case in the NHL, the meanest player on the ice is one of the nicest off it. Darren Langdon was exactly that. He was affable, good-natured and humorous off the ice and liked by teammates and fans alike.
