Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter XXXIX: 340-336

340. Dallas Eakins

Eakins was a 6'2", 185 lb. defenseman from Dade City, Florida. Born on February 27th, 1967, he played for the Peterborough Petes beginning in 1984-85 (48 games, zero goals, eight assists, 96 PiM). Soon thereafter, the Washington Capitals selected him in the 10th round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft with the 208th overall pick. He would go on to score 20 goals and another 54 assists over the next three seasons in the OHL, appearing in 178 contests.

In Eakins first professional season, in 1988-89, he spent the year in the AHL with the Baltimore Skipjacks (62 games, zero goals, 10 assists, 139 penalty minutes). Most of the next four seasons would see him remain at the AHL level with the Moncton Hawks (272 games, 10 goals, 44 assists, 589 PiM), with a 14 game call up to the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93 (zero goals, two assists, 38 PiM).

Over the next seven seasons, Eakins appeared with over a dozen teams, including the Cincinnati Cyclones (139 games, seven goals, 30 assists, 212 PiM), the Florida Panthers (41 games, zero goals, two assists, 79 PiM), the Worcester IceCats (four games, zero goals, zero assists, 12 PiM), the St. Louis Blues (16 games, zero goals, one assist, 34 PiM), the Jets again (two games), the Springfield Falcons (38 games, six goals, seven assists, 63 PiM), the Phoenix Coyotes (four games, zero goals, zero assists, 10 PiM), the Binghampton Rangers (19 games, one goal, seven assists, 15 PiM), the New York Rangers (Three games, zero goals, zero assists, six PiM), the New Haven Beast (four games, zero goals, one assist, seven PiM), the St. John's Maple Leafs (20 games, three goals, seven assists, 16 PiM), the Toronto Maple Leafs (18 games, zero goals, two assists, 24 PiM), the Chicago Wolves (70 games, five goals, 26 assists, 99 PiM), and the New York Islanders (two games, zero goals, one assist, two PiM).

During the 2000 offseason, Eakins signed a free agent contract with Calgary, but still appeared mostly with the Wolves (64 games, three goals, 16 assists, 49 PiM). In his first Calgary appearance, on November 5th, he tabbed an assist in a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. It would remain his only point while with the club. He appeared in another 16 contests for the Flames through the season, playing for just over 12 minutes per game, posting a minus-1 rating, and earning 11 penalty minutes.

2001-02 would see Eakins play 54 games for the Wolves, scoring twice with 15 assists and 58 penalty minutes. In three games for Calgary, he earned four penalty minutes and registered a plus-1 rating. He took a total of four shots on goal through his 20 career contests with the franchise.

Eakins later played in 72 more games for the Wolves (four goals, 11 assists, 85 PiM). He closed out his career in 2003-04 with the Manitoba Moose (one goal, seven assists, 68 PiM).

All-Time Statline: 20 games, zero goals, one assist, even rating, 15 penalty minutes, 0.41 point shares.

339. Jamal Mayers

Mayers was a 6'1", 222 lb. right winger from Toronto, Ontario. Born on October 24th, 1974, he enjoyed four seasons of collegiate hockey with Western Michigan University. Before graduating with the Class of 1996, he scored 55 goals and 104 helpers in 155 contests for the Broncos. After his freshman season, the St. Louis Blues chose him in the fourth round of the NHL Entry Draft of 1993, with the 89th overall pick.

In Mayers first professional season, in 1996-97, he played most of his campaign with the Worcester IceCats (62 games, 12 goals, 14 assists, 104 PiM), also playing in six games his first NHL appearance with the St. Louis Blues. He would play for St. Louis for a total of 10 seasons, scoring 71 times with 87 assists in 595 contests, along with 756 penalty minutes.

Mayers joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008-09, and stayed there for the next season and a half (115 games, nine goals, 15 assists, 160 PiM). On January 30th, 2010, the Leafs traded him with Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, and Ian White to the Flames for Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom, and Keith Aulie.

Mayers scored his first Flames' point on February 3rd, an assist in a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. He tallied his only marker for the Flames on March 11th, a game winner in a 2-0 victory against the Ottawa Senators. He would total 28 shots-on-goal and play just over nine minutes per appearance through 27 contests with Calgary, earning five assists, a plus-2 rating, and 53 penalty minutes. The San Jose Sharks signed him away from the Flames following the season.

After Mayers' time with San Jose (78 games, three goals, 11 assists, 124 PiM), he played two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks (100 games, six goals, 11 assists, 107 PiM). He retired officially from playing this past December, and is currently an analyst with the NHL Network.

All-Time Statline: 27 games, one goal, five assists, plus-2 rating, 53 penalty minutes, 0.41 point shares.

338. TJ Galiardi

Galiardi is a 6'2", 190 lb. left winger from Calgary, Alberta. Born on April 22nd, 1988, the Colorado Avalanche chose him after one season with Dartmouth College, where he tallied 14 goals and 17 assists for the Big Green in 33 games. The Avs chose him in the second round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft with the 55th overall pick. He followed his selection with one season at the Junior level with the Calgary Hitmen, where he racked up 18 goals and 52 assists in 72 contests.

As a member of the Avalanche, Galiardi appeared in 171 games over the next four seasons. He put up 33 goals and 39 assists while with the club, later playing a season and a half with the San Jose Sharks (50 games, six goals, nine assists). The Sharks sent him to the Flames prior to the 2013-14 season for a fourth round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Galiardi joined the Flames opening day roster, and quickly became a fixture in the lineup, mostly on the second or third line. He scored a goal and an assist in his second game of the year, a 4-3 decision over the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 4th. He repeated the feat twice more, in a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on February 1st, and again on April 9th in a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. He averaged 14:37 per game through the season, scoring four times on 100 shots, earning 13 assists, a minus-13 rating, and 21 penalty minutes. He enters this offseason as a restricted free agent.

All-Time Statline: 62 games, four goals, 13 assists, minus-13 rating, 21 penalty minutes, 0.41 point shares.

337. Daniel Taylor

Taylor is a 6', 198 lb. goaltender from Plymouth, England. Born on the 28th of April, 1986, he first made waves in the OHL with the Guelph Storm (29-18-6) and the Kingston Frontenacs (32-15-6). He put up a 2.89 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. The Los Angeles Kings made him a seventh round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, with the 221st overall pick.

Before allowing two goals on eight shots for the Kings in 20 minutes during the 2007-08 season, Taylor played for the Bakersfield Condors (7-7-2), the Wheeling Nailers (0-0-1), the Texas Wildcatters (0-1-0), the Reading Royals (3-0-0), and the Manchester Monarchs (13-5-2). After his Kings appearance, and before appearing with the Flames, he played with the Royals again (3-17-1), the Monarchs again (7-4-2), the Gwinnett Gladiators (18-13-5), the Syracuse Crunch (2-4-0), the Springfield Falcons (7-5-0), and the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, 14-14-0). He went 17-10-3 for the Abbotsford Heat in 2011-12, stopping 92.7% of his shots faced and allowing 2.21 goals per 60 minutes on the ice.

In 2012-13, Taylor went 18-12-2 for Abbotsford, with a 2.05 GAA and a .922 save percentage. On February 18th, he allowed four goals in his first NHL start in six years, stopping 33 Coyotes' shots in a 4-0 loss to Phoenix. He was called up again on March 3rd, and earned his first NHL victory by stopping 29-of-31 shots in a 4-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks. He spent last season with Farjestads BK Karlstad in Sweden, going 4-11-0.

All-Time Statline: Two games, 1-1-0, 62 saves, 68 shots faced, 3.00 goals against average, .912 save percentage, 0.42 point shares.

336. Matt Pelech

Pelech, a Toronto, Ontario native, is a 6'5", 227 lb. defenseman. Born on September 4th, 1987, he was a first round selection of Calgary in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, 26th overall straight out of Juniors. In four OHL seasons, he played with the Sarnia Sting (111 games, five goals, 13 assists, 172 PiM), the London Knights (34 games, one goal, seven assists, 80 PiM), and the Belleville Bulls (58 games, five goals, 30 assists, 171 PiM).

Pelech made his professional debut in 2007-08 with the Quad City Flames (77 games, three goals six assists, 141 PiM). He duplicated his stat line the next season with Quad City in fewer games (59 games, three goals, six assists, 130 PiM). 2008-09 would also see Pelech make his first ever NHL appearance, in April. After posting a minus-2 rating in his first game, he earned assists in three of his next four matches, culminating in a one assist, plus-3 performance in Calgary's season finale, a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. He took four shots on goal over his five appearances, playing 13:16 per game and earning nine penalty minutes and an aggregate plus-1 rating.

Pelech spent the next two seasons with the Abbotsford Heat (101 games, five goals, 10 assists, 323 PiM). He signed a free agent contract with the San Jose Sharks during the 2011 offseason, and has spent the last three seasons with the organization, between the aptly named Worchester Sharks (149 games, seven goals, 12 assists, 379 PiM) and San Jose (eight games, one goal, 29 PiM). He is currently not signed by any team.

All-Time Statline: Five games, zero goals, three assists, plus-1 rating, nine penalty minutes, 0.42 point shares.

Stop by M&G anytime for all of your Flames news. Tune in tomorrow for Chapter 40.