With so many teams in the National Hockey League, there’s bound to be some churn as players go from team to team. But sometimes there’s a player that fits into a specific role on a specific team so well that it’s hard to imagine them anywhere else.

It might seem like Jamie McLennan was Miikka Kiprusoff’s backup for the Calgary Flames forever. But there are two weird things to note about McLennan: he was with the Flames for less than three full seasons, about a season and a half of that playing with Kiprusoff, and he’s technically still suspended by the NHL for an incident in the 2007 playoffs.

With Ryan Lomberg returning to the Flames this season, we’ve decided to look back upon other two-time members of the Flames. So let’s dive into McLennan’s run with the Flames.

McLennan was already a pretty seasoned pro goalie by the time he arrived in Calgary. He had slipped down the depth chart with the Minnesota Wild, spending 2001-02 with the AHL’s Houston Aeroes, and the Flames acquired him during the 2002 off-season in exchange for a ninth-round pick in 2002.

McLennan spent 2002-03 as Roman Turek’s back-up. He won twice in 22 appearances and posted an .892 save percentage. He was exposed in the 2003 waiver draft – the Flames protected Andrei Trefilov, who was playing in Russia, over McLennan – but he remained with the club. That’s a good thing, as Turek was injured early in the 2003-04 season and the Flames leaned heavily on McLennan before and after Miikka Kiprusoff’s acquisition (and subsequent injury).

Late in the season, Turek and Kiprusoff finally got healthy and suddenly the Flames didn’t need three NHL goalies anymore.

Prior to the 2004 trade deadline, the Flames sent McLennan, Blair Betts and prospect Greg Moore to the NY Rangers for Chris Simon and a seventh-round pick in 2004.

McLennan dealt with injuries with the Rangers and played just four games. He played in England during the 2004-05 lockout, then spent the 2005-06 season with the Florida Panthers.

During the 2006 off-season, McLennan and the Flames hashed out a deal for him to return to the club as Kiprusoff’s backup. McLennan played nine times in a season where Kiprusoff played 74 times, and he won three games on Kiprusoff’s off nights.

McLennan played once in the 2007 playoffs, relieving Kiprusoff during a 5-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5 of their first round series. In a pretty chippy game to begin with, McLennan slashed Johan Franzen and was tossed from the game. Afterwards, he was suspended by the NHL for five games; Brent Krahn dressed as Kiprusoff’s backup for Game 6, in which the Flames were eliminated from the playoffs.

McLennan left the Flames as a free agent and spent the 2007-08 season in Japan before retiring. He still technically has four games remaining on his suspension and remains ineligible to play in the NHL as a result. (But he’s retired, so it’s a moot point.)

Following his retirement, McLennan spent three seasons in scouting and coaching roles with the Flames before moving into broadcasting. He can currently be seen all over TSN programming.