A Flame From the Past: Reggie Lemelin

Do you remember Reggie Lemelin?

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 1980-81 season, the first season the Flames played in Calgary.It dawned on me before writing this that I’ve yet to do a goalie for A Flame From the Past, so let’s buck that trend and get to know Reggie Lemelin.

Born Réjean Lemelin in Québec City in 1954, Lemelin began his junior career with the Sherbrooke Castors of the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League in 1972-73. That season, he posted an .874 save percentage and 5.06 goals against average in 36 games, along with an .836 save percentage in two post-season games. In 1973-74, Lemelin had an .866 save percentage and 4.68 goals against average in 43 games.

In the seventh round, the Philadelphia Flyers selected him 125th. The World Hockey Association’ s Chicago Cougars selected Lemelin 209th. Originally, Lemelin played for the Philadelphia Firebirds of the North American Hockey League, where had a 3.48 goals against average in 43 games in 1974-75. In 1975-76 with the same team, Lemelin finished with a 3.63 goals against average in 29 games, helping the Firebirds win the league’s trophy.

The 1975-76 season also saw Lemelin play seven games with the Richmond Robins of the American Hockey League. Lemelin had an .895 save percentage and 3.61 goals against average in 51 games in the NAHL in 1976-77, the final year of that league’s existence. The Firebirds transferred to the AHL, where he had an .893 save percentage and 2.96 goals against average in 60 games in 1977-78.

Lemelin began his National Hockey League career with the Atlanta Flames in 1978-79, posting an .882 save percentage and 3.33 goals against average in 18 games. He also played an additional 13 games in the AHL that season. In the Flames’ final season in Atlanta, Lemelin played just three games in the NHL, instead playing for the Central Hockey League’s Birmingham Bulls, where he had an .884 save percentage and 3.76 goals against average in 38 games. 

The 1980-81 season was Lemelin’s final season playing in minor league hockey, playing 13 games with the Bulls. Instead, most of his season was spent with the Flames, who by this point had moved to Calgary. That season, he had a .901 save percentage and 3.24 goals against average in 29 games played.

Lemelin served as the team’s backup in 1990-81 and 1981-82, and split the crease in 1982-83. Between the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons, Lemelin had an .882 save percentage and 3.94 goals against average in 73 games.

He finally earned the starter’s role in 1983-84 and excelled in it. That season saw him post an .893 save percentage and 3.52 goals against average in 51 games, finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting and eighth in Hart Trophy voting. His strong play continued in 1984-85, as Lemelin had an .888 save percentage and 3.47 goals against average in 56 games played, finishing third in Vezina Trophy voting.

The 1985-86 season saw the Flames make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. In the regular season, Lemelin had an .872 save percentage and 4.09 goals against average in 60 games. He lost his starter spot to the younger Mike Vernon in the post-season, essentially ending his tenure as the Flames’ starter.

Lemelin played just one more season with the Flames, authoring an .885 save percentage and 3.23 save percentage in 33 games during the 1986-87 season. During the 1987 off-season, Lemelin signed with the Boston Bruins, the team with which he’d finish his career.

In 1987-88, Lemelin had an .889 save percentage and 2.93 goals against average in 49 games played. He and the Bruins would play an additional 23 games in the 1988 playoffs, as Lemelin had an .895 save percentage and 2.64 goals against average in 17 postseason games, with the Bruins falling to the Edmonton Oilers in the finals. Lemelin got revenge on the Montréal Canadiens, the team that beat the Flames in the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals. Lemelin also received Vezina votes in 1987-88, finishing seventh.

The only time Lemelin was named an All-Star was in 1988-89, posting an .887 save percentage and 3.01 goals against average in 40 games, finishing seventh in Vezina Trophy voting for a second consecutive season. In 1989-90, he had an .892 save percentage and 2.80 goals against average in 43 games, finishing fourth in Vezina voting and winning the Jennings Trophy for the team with the fewest goals against.

That was the final time Lemelin played more than half his team’s games, and the 1990-91 season was his final season with any significant number of games played. He posted an .868 save percentage and 3.64 goals against average that year, and played just 18 games over the next two seasons before retiring.

Since retiring, Lemelin served for nearly a decade and a half as the Flyers’ goaltending coach, the team that originally drafted him all the way back in 1974. Interesting, his daughter, Steohanie Lemelin, is an actress who was a regular in the show Young Justice, as well as doing voice work in video games, such as Red Dead Redemption 2, the best video game of all time.