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Rhett Adam Warrener (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadians former professional ice hockey defenceman who played over 700 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames between 1995 and 2008. He was a member of the Canadian national junior team that won a gold medal at the 1996 World Junior Championship. Warrener retired in 2009 after missing a full season due to a shoulder injury. He briefly remained with the Flames as a scout before turning to broadcasting. Warrener was born in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, but grew up in Frontier, Saskatchewan.
Following a 1993–94 season in which Warrener scored 26 points and recorded 131 penalty minutes, the Florida Panthers selected him with their second round selection, 27th overall, at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He played a third full season in the WHL in 1994–95, scoring 39 points and recording 137 penalty minutes in 66 games.
Establishing himself as a regular defenceman in the Panthers lineup, Warrener appeared in 62 games in 1996–97. He scored his first NHL goal on January 23, 1997, against Boston Bruins' goaltender Rob Tallas and finished the season with 4 goals and 13 points. He appeared in a career high 79 games in 1997–98, recording four assists, and had seven assists in 44 games in 1998–99 when the Panthers traded him. Warrener was sent to the Buffalo Sabres, along with a draft pick, for Mike Wilson on March 23, 1999. The Sabres reached the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Dallas Stars in the sixth game of the series. Like many of that year's Sabres players, Warrener believes Brett Hull's controversial Cup clinching goal should not have counted given Hull's foot was in the goal crease in apparent violation of the rules of the time. Warrener was one of the top defencemen of the playoffs; his plus-minus of +12 was the third best total of the post-season.
Warrener led the Sabres' defence with a +18 rating in 1999–2000. He again led the defence with a +10 in 2000–01 and set a career high with 19 points. The Sabres named him the recipient of their Tim Horton Memorial Award as the team's "unsung hero" Warrener's five goals and 113 penalty minutes in 2001–02 were both career highs. He was limited to 50 games in 2002–03 after missing time with a broken foot, concussion, abdominal strain and inner-ear imbalance.
The Calgary Flames acquired Warrener, along with Steve Reinprecht in exchange for Chris Drury and Steve Bégin on July 3, 2003. He appeared in 77 games in 2003–04, scoring three goals and 17 points, and appeared in his 500th NHL game on November 22, 2003, against the Chicago Blackhawks. He added an assist in 24 playoff games as the Flames reached the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. Warrener was considered one of the team's best defenders; head coach Darryl Sutter said he was the Flames' most underrated players and was influential in helping the team reach the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. It was the third time he reached the final in his first season with a team, but he again fell short of winning the championship as the Flames were defeated for the Cup in seven games by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After missing the 2004–05 season due to a labour stoppage, Warrener scored 6 points in 61 games in 2005–06 but again missed significant time to injuries. Named an alternate captain in 2006–07, he appeared in 62 games, scoring ten points. Warrener missed the majority of the 2007–08 season with a variety of injuries, including a broken leg along with ankle and throat injuries. Consequently, the Flames placed Warrener on waivers prior to the 2008–09 season, intending to remove him from the team roster. Instead, he was placed on injured reserve following shoulder surgery. While he hoped to return to the Flames' lineup at some point during the season, but ultimately missed the entire season. Realizing his shoulder remained too weak, Warrener announced his retirement following the season but remained with the Flames as a scout.
Warrener, who was born in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, and his wife Christina, a native of Buffalo, continue to live in Calgary. The couple have two sons. Unsatisfied in his role as a scout, Warrener left the game for a time. He returned to the sport as a broadcaster, appearing as an intermission panelist for the team's television broadcasts and joining CFAC radio for a weekly segment called "Warrener Wednesdays". He parlayed his weekly guest spot into a daily co-host position on the station's morning show. As a co-host Warrener made a strong impact in the Calgary community supporting many charity events. In spring 2019 he decided to leave radio in order to rejoin the Flames organization in a player development role.
Starting in October 2024, Rhett, along with his former Sportsnet 960 pals, Dean "Boomer" Molberg and Ryan Pinder started their own podcast which is part of the Nation Network called Barn Burner.
Along with Mike Commodore, he played a role in Paul Brandt's music video, "Convoy", as a truck driver.
| 1991–92 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1992–93 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 68 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 100 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 1993–94 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 61 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 131 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 33 |
| 1994–95 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 66 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 137 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 1995–96 | Carolina Monarchs | AHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995–96 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 28 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 46 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1996–97 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 62 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 88 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 79 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 99 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 48 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 32 |
| 1999–00 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 61 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 89 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2000–01 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 77 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 78 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2001–02 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 65 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 113 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 50 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003–04 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 77 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 97 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 2005–06 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 61 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 54 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 2006–07 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 62 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 67 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2007–08 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 31 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993 | Canada | PC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | Canada | WJC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Team awards | ||
| Tim Horton Memorial Award Buffalo Sabres' unsung hero | 2000–01 | |
| Ralph T. Scurfield Humanitarian Award Calgary Flames player who exemplifies leadership and community service | 2005–06 2006–07 | |
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