Flames All-Time Countdown Chapter CXXXV: 12. Jamie Macoun

12. Jamie Macoun

Jamie Macoun was a 6’2″, 197 lb. defenseman. The Hamilton, Ontario native was born on August 17th, 1961. He spent three seasons in the Ontario Junior “A” League, racking up 19 goals and 44 assists in 96 contests, ending in 1980-81. He then suited up at the collegiate level with Ohio State University, totaling 17 goals and 59 assists for the Buckeyes over three seasons and 82 games. His college career came to an end after he was ruled ineligible to play by the NCAA. He responded by dropping out and signing with the Flames through free agency On January 30th, 1983.

Macoun appeared with Calgary 22 times through the remainder of the 1982-83 season, scoring a single goal on 18 shots with four assists, a plus-3 rating, and 25 penalty minutes. On February 24th, he tallied the first marker of his career in a 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. Calgary qualified for the postseason with a 32-34-14 record, finishing in second place in the Smythe Division. They defeated the Vancouver Canucks, three-games-to-one before losing to the Edmonton Oilers in five. Macoun skated in all nine contests, earning two assists.

In 1983-84, Macoun played in 72 games, earning a spot on the NHL All-Rookie First Team. He lit the lamp nine times on 165 shots, added 23 assists, earned a plus-3 rating, and spent a team-fifth 97 minutes in the penalty box. He earned a blue-line third best 5.0 point shares. The club flipped their prior season record, finishing at 34-32-14, then mirrored the postseason as well, defeating the Canucks three-games-to-one then losing to the Oilers in seven. Macoun scored one goal in the series.

1984-85 would see Macoun score nine times on 129 shots with 30 helpers in 70 appearances. He led the Flames with a plus-44 rating, earned 67 penalty minutes, and finished with 6.9 point shares. Two of his markers were game winners. During a game against the Oilers, he had his cheekbone broken after getting sucker punched by Mark Messier. The Flames went 41-27-12, finishing third in the Smythe Division before losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Winnipeg Jets in four games. Macoun scored a goal in the series, then went on to help Team Canada to a Silver Medal finish at the World Ice Hockey Championship.

Macoun scored a career high 11 goals in 1985-86, on 133 shots. He also earned 21 assists in his 79 appearances, with a plus-14 rating, 5.2 point shares, and 81 penalty minutes. The club went 40-31-9 during the regular season, then defeated the Jets in three straight, the Oilers in seven, and the St. Louis Blues in seven, winning the Campbell Conference Championship. They lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games for the Stanley Cup. Macoun had a goal and six assists in the 22 contests.

In 1986-87, Macoun finished with a career high 40 points, scoring seven goals on 137 shots with 33 assists. He led the club with a plus-33 rating, and a club-sixth 111 penalty minutes. He again ranked third on the blue line in point shares, with 7.2. Calgary finished at 46-31-3, earning second place in the Smythe Division. They lost in the playoffs’ opening round, in six games to Winnipeg. Macoun earned an assist over three appearances. That seasons’ club features eight of the top 12 players in our countdown.

During the 1987 offseason, Macoun was involved in a life threatening accident, according to Wikipedia:

After missing 1987–88 due to the injury, Macoun returned to the Flames lineup for the start of the 1988–89 campaign. He played in 72 games, and scored eight goals (including two game winners) on 89 shots with 19 assists. He also had a plus-40 rating, 76 penalty minutes, and 7.0 point shares. On December 16th, he had a goal and an assist in a 5-3 win over Vancouver. Calgary finished with a franchise record 117 points, on the strength of a 54-17-9 record. They then won the franchises’ first ever Stanley Cup, eliminating the Canucks in seven, the Los Angeles Kings in four, the Chicago Blackhawks in five, and Montreal in six. Macoun played in all 22 contests, scoring three times with six assists.

1989-90 would see Macoun play in 78 games for Calgary, and light the lamp eight times on 120 shots with 27 assists. He had an NHL third-best plus-34 rating and 70 penalty minutes with a career high and team-fourth 7.3 point shares. On December 20th, he scored the game winner as the Flames downed Vancouver, 2-1. He earned three assists on January 2nd in a 4-4 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers. The team won the Smythe Division Championship with a 42-23-15 record, then lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Kings in six games. Macoun had three assists through the series.

In 1990-91, Macoun scored seven times on 117 shots, earning 15 assists in 79 games. He had a plus-29 rating and 84 penalty minutes, along with 5.4 point shares. On November 22nd, he earned two assists in a 6-3 win against the Kings. Calgary completed the season at 46-26-8, finishing second in the Smythe with 100 points. They lost in the first round of the postseason in seven games to the Oilers. Macoun had an assist through the series.

Macoun began his ninth season with Calgary by scoring twice with a dozen assists in 37 appearances. On January 2nd, 1992, the Flames traded him with Doug Gilmour, Ric Natress, Kent Manderville, and Rick Wamsley to Toronto for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godynyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit and Craig Berube. Macoun played seven years with the Leafs, scoring 13 goals with 88 assists in 466 games. He closed out his career after parts of two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings (76 games, one goal, 10 assists).

From the time he arrived in Calgary to the time he left, Macoun consistently ranked third out of the clubs’ defensemen in point shares, but he was so solidly consistent that he finished up his Flames’ career with a plus-210 rating, third on the all-time leaderboard.

All-Time Statline: 586 games, 62 goals, 184 assists, plus-210 rating, 664 penalty minutes, 47.15 point shares.

by Kevin Kraczkowski