A Flame From the Past: Jim Peplinski

Do you remember Jim Peplinski?

Every once in a while, we take a look at a player who once played for the Calgary Flames in a series called “A Flame From the Past”. This player has to have played a significant number of games for the Flames. I’ll put every Flames’ season into a Wheel of Names, and this time, it landed on the 1984-85 season.

Peplinski is probably one of the better players we’ve covered in this series, but hey, when you see a hometown of Renfrew, Ontario, and you often drive by an arena named after him, you just have to feature him on A Flame From the Past.

Born in the small Ottawa Valley town of Renfrew, Peplinski’s first junior year was in 1976-77 with the Ottawa South Canadians U18 AAA team. For the 1977-78 team, he joined the Ontario Hockey Association’s Toronto Marlboros, who are now the Guelph Storm in the present day. He potted 13 goals and 41 points in 66 games, and then in his draft year of 1978-79, Peplinski scored 23 goals and 55 points in 66 games.

The forward’s final junior season saw him post 35 goals and 101 points in 67 games, earning him a shot in the National Hockey League immediately. While he was drafted by the Atlanta Flames 75th in the 1979 draft, Peplinski spent his entire career with the Flames.

In his rookie year of 1980-81, the 6’3”, 210 lbs forward scored 13 goals and 38 points in 80 games, picking up 108 penalty minutes in the process. He played 16 post-season games with the Flames, where he scored twice and had five points.

His best season of his career came in 1981-82, as he scored a career-best 30 goals and 67 points in 74 games, scoring in one of the three playoff games he played in. Peplinski’s scoring dropped over the next three seasons, scoring 15 goals and 41 points in 74 games during the 1983-84 season. 

In 1983-84, Peplinski scored 11 goals and 33 points in 74 games, but then added another three more goals and seven points in 11 post-season games. The following season saw him score 16 goals and 45 points in 80 games, with a goal and four points in four playoff games.

Peplinski was all over the scoreboard in 1985-86, potting 24 goals and 59 points in 77 games, with 214 penalty minutes, the first time he had over 140 penalty minutes in a season. With the Flames heading to the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals, Peplinski was an important piece to the lineup, scoring five goals and 14 points in 22 games.

In 1986-87, the Renfrew native scored 18 goals and 50 points, the third and penultimate time he reached the 50-point mark in his career. He scored just one goal in the six playoff games that season. Peplinski represented Team Canada at the 1988 Olympics, with Team Canada finishing fourth. That season was a productive one for Peplinski, scoring 20 goals and reaching 50+ points for the final time.

As you know, the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1988-89, as Peplinski scored 13 goals and 38 points in 79 regular season games. In 20 post-season games, the forward scored just one goal with seven assists, and was scratched in the Cup-clinching game, but was still able to celebrate with the team.

Peplinski played six games in 1989-90 before retiring. He made a brief comeback in 1994-95, playing another six games where he picked up his final NHL point.