Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter LXXXVIII: 117-115

117. Lee Stempniak

Stempniak, born on February 4th, 1983, is a 5’11", 196 lb. right winger from Buffalo, New York. He played his college hockey with Dartmouth, totaling 33 goals and 37 assists through 66 games over his first two seasons. The St. Louis Blues chose him in the fifth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with the 148th overall pick. He finished up with Dartmouth, scoring 30 goals and 51 assists in 69 contests over his final two seasons before graduating with the Class of 2005.

Stempniak played with the Blues starting in 2005-06, playing in 233 games over the next four seasons. He scored 57 times with 73 assists. He later played with the Toronto Maple Leafs (123 games, 25 goals, 36 assists) and the Phoenix Coyotes (100 games, 33 goals, 23 assists). Phoenix sent him to the Flames for Daymond Langkow during the 2011 offseason.

2011-12 would see Stempniak average 16:14 per game over 61 appearances. He ranked fourth on the club with 14 goals scored on 130 shots, with a team-seventh 14 assists, a minus-2 rating, and 16 penalty minutes. He had multiple points on five occasions. On November 12th, he earned an assist and scored the game winning goal in a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche. On January 21st, he netted a hat trick and added one helper in a 6-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. The Flames posted a 37-29-16 record, falling short of the postseason by five points.

In 2012-13, Stempniak was one of three Flames to lead the team with 47 appearances. He played for 17:54 per game, lighting the lamp a team-fifth nine times on 113 shots, along with a Flames-best 23 assists, a team-second plus-2 rating, and 12 penalty minutes for the 19-25-4 Flames team, who again fell short of the playoffs. Stempniak totaled more than one point on six occasions, including January 26th, when he dished out two assists and scored the game winning goal in a 4-3 victory over the Oilers. On March 13th, he scored the game winner and added an assist in a 5-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings.

2013-14 would see Stempniak appear for 19:24 per game over 52 appearances. He scored a team-10th eight goals on 144 shots with a team-10th 15 assists, a team second-worst minus-21 rating, and 28 penalty minutes. On January 28th, he tallied three assists in a 5-4 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks. On March 5th, the Flames sent him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third round pick (Matteson Iacopelli) later traded to the Blackhawks for Brandon Bollig. Stempniak signed with the New York Rangers for one-year and $900,000 to play the 2014-15 season.

All-Time Statline: 160 games, 31 goals, 52 assists, minus-21 rating, 56 penalty minutes, 7.95 point shares.

116. Bob Boughner

Boughner, a native of Windsor, Ontario, was born on March 8th, 1971. The 6’, 203 lb. defenseman played the 1988-89 season in the OHL with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, scoring six times with 15 assists and 182 penalty minutes in 64 contests. The Detroit Red Wings selected him in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, with the 32nd overall choice. He would play two more seasons with the Greyhounds (113 games, 20 goals, 56 assists, 278 PiM).

Boughner played most of the 1991-92 campaign with the ECHL’s Toledo Storm (28 games, three goals, 10 assists, 79 PiM), also making minor league appearances with the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings (142 games, nine goals, 30 assists, 489 PiM), the IHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones (81 games, two goals, 14 assists, 192 PiM), and the Carolina Monarchs (46 games, two goals, 15 assists, 127 PiM). He made his first NHL appearance with the Buffalo Sabres (177 games, two goals, 10 assists, 494 PiM) in 1995-96, later playing with the Nashville Predators (141 games, five goals, 14 assists, 234 PiM) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (69 games, two goals, three assists, 216 PiM).

During the 2001 offseason, the Flames signed Boughner to a three-year, $6,600,000 contract. He ranked third on the team with 79 games played in 2001-02. He skated for 18:43 per game, scoring two goals on 58 shots with four assists, a team-third plus-9 rating, and a team leading 170 penalty minutes. Calgary posted a 32-35-12-3 rating, falling short of the postseason by 15 games. On October 13th, Boughner scored a goal and an assist in a 4-3, overtime win against the Dallas Stars. On December 8th, he was assessed 29 of a record 309 penalty minutes in a 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Read more about that here.

2002-03 would see Boughner rank 10th on the team with 69 appearances. He scored three goals on 62 shots with a team-eighth 14 assists, a team-leading plus-5 rating, and a team-second 126 penalty minutes. On October 19th, he scored the game winner in a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Flames completed the season at 29-36-13-4, short of the playoffs.

During the 2003 offseason, the Flames traded Boughner to the Carolina Hurricanes for two draft picks (Kristopher Hogg and Kevin Lalande). He played 43 games for Carolina (zero goals, five assists, 80 penalty minutes, later playing with the Colorado Avalanche (52 games, one goal, six assists, 62 PiM). He is currently the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires.

All-Time Statline: 148 games, five goals, 18 assists, plus-14 rating, 296 penalty minutes, 8.09 point shares.

115. Oleg Saprykin

Saprykin, a 6'1", 185 lb. left winger from Moscow, Russia, was born on February 12th, 1981. After playing in Russia, he joined the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds in 1998-99, and scored 47 goals and 46 assists in 66 contests. The Flames chose him following the season with the 11th overall selection in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

He played most the 1999-00 season with the Thunderbirds (48 games, 30 goals, 36 assists), joining the Flames for four contests in October. He earned an assist in his first game, a 5-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks. He posted a minus-1 rating in each of his appearances, also earning one minor assist in just over 13 minutes per game.

In 2000-01, Saprykin ranked seventh on the club with nine goals on 95 shots. He played in 59 games, appearing for 12:10 per contest and dishing out 14 assists with a team leading plus-4 rating and 43 penalty minutes. On November 11th, he accounted for half of Calgary’s offensive output by scoring twice in a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Flames went 27-36-15-4, missing out on the playoffs.

2001-02 would see Saprykin play 52 games for the Saint John Flames, and score five goals with 19 assists. He played in only three games in January for Calgary, going scoreless on nine shots and earning a minus-2 rating. The following season, he averaged 11:53 over 52 contests. He scored a team-seventh eight goals on 116 shots with a team-sixth 15 assists, a team-leading plus-5 rating, and 46 penalty minutes. He ended up with multiple points six times through the season, including December 29th, when he tallied an assist and the game winning marker in a 4-2 win against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Calgary finished at 29-36-13-4.

In 2003-04, Saprykin played in 69 games, averaging 13:48 per appearance. He scored a team-sixth 12 goals on 151 shots with a team-seventh 17 assists, a plus-1 rating, and 41 penalty minutes. On November 27th, he lit the lamp twice in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche. On March 7th, he scored two goals in a 7-1 victory against the Avs. The Flames advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final after finishing the season with a 42-30-7-3 record. Saprykin scored three goals (most notably the game five overtime winner over the Bolts, below) and three assists in 26 playoff games before the team was eliminated in the Finals by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Flames traded him to the Phoenix Coyotes during the offseason with Denis Gauthier for Daymond Langkow.

Saprykin played with the Coyotes for most of two seasons (126 games, 25 goals, 34 assists) before finishing up his NHL career with the Ottawa Senators (12 games, one goal, one assist) in 2006-07. He has since played in the KHL with CSKA Moscow (160 games, 56 goals, 46 assists), Moscow Dynamo (24 games, five goals, two assists), St. Petersburg SKA (23 games, two goals, five assists), and UFA Salavat Yulayev (126 games, 27 goals, 34 assists).

All-Time Statline: 187 games, 29 goals, 47 assists, plus-4 rating, 132 penalty minutes, 8.18 point shares.