Michael Leighton

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Position Goaltender
Catches Left
Height
Weight		 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
186 lb (84 kg/13 st 4 lb)
NHL Team
F. teams		 Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
Nashville Predators
Philadelphia Flyers
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born May 19, 1981 (1981-05-19) (age 27),
Petrolia, ON
NHL Draft 165th overall, 1999
Chicago Blackhawks
Pro career 2001 – present

Michael Leighton (born May 19, 1981 in Petrolia, Ontario) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Carolina Hurricanes organization.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Leighton began impressing scouts while playing for the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League. Following his rookie season, he was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft with the 165th overall pick. He played two more seasons in the OHL before signing an entry level contract with the Blackhawks prior to the 2001–02 AHL season.

He played two seasons in the AHL for the Norfolk Admirals before making his NHL debut on January 8, 2003. He became the first Blackhawks player to record a shutout in his debut during a scoreless tie against the Phoenix Coyotes' Zac Bierk. He would compete with Craig Anderson for back-up duties, and therefore never spent a complete season in the NHL during his time with Chicago.

He would continue to play in the Blackhawks' organization until October 4, 2005, when he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Milan Bartovic. He did not appear in a game with the Sabres, as he spent the season with their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

On July 13, 2006, Leighton signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks and following training camp, the organization assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. When both Ilya Bryzgalov and Jean-Sébastien Giguère were injured, the Ducks recalled him on November 27 to start. However, he was claimed off waivers by the Nashville Predators. After appearing in just twenty minutes of one game with the Predators, Leighton was again placed on waivers, and this time was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers on January 11, 2007.

The Flyers placed him on a ten-game conditioning stint with the Philadelphia Phantoms, but recalled him early as Robert Esche was injured. Leighton backed up Antero Niittymäki for one game before making his first NHL start in nearly three years on February 10, 2007 in a win against the St. Louis Blues. After playing four games with the last-place Flyers, Leighton was once again placed on waivers. On February 27, he was picked up by the Montreal Canadiens, but he finished the season without playing a game for his new team. Montreal then traded him to Carolina in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Carolina originally assigned him to their AHL affiliate Albany River Rats, but brought him back to the NHL on January 3rd, 2008, when John Grahame was sent to Albany after being placed on waivers. Leighton appeared in three games for the Hurricanes, with a record of 1–1–0, before returning to Albany on January 21 as Grahame was recalled to the NHL team.

On April 24, 2008, Leighton set an AHL record making 98 saves on 101 shots, in a playoff game that went to 5 overtimes, also an AHL record.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Records

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Regular season

   
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1998–99 Windsor Spitfires OHL 28 4 17 2 1389 112 0 4.84 .867
1999–00 Windsor Spitfires OHL 42 17 17 2 2272 118 1 3.12 .889
2000–01 Windsor Spitfires OHL 54 32 13 5 3035 138 2 2.73 .910
2001–02 Norfolk Admirals AHL 52 27 16 8 3114 111 6 2.14 .920
2002–03 Norfolk Admirals AHL 36 18 13 5 2184 91 4 2.50 .912
2002–03 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 8 2 3 2 447 21 1 2.82 .913
2003–04 Norfolk Admirals AHL 18 10 7 1 1081 33 1 1.83 .926
2003–04 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 34 6 18 8 1988 99 2 2.99 .900
2004–05 Norfolk Admirals AHL 41 20 16 3 2319 78 7 2.02 .921
2005–06 Rochester Americans AHL 40 15 22 1 2316 124 2 3.21 .887
2006–07 Portland Pirates AHL 16 8 6 1 962 37 2 2.31 .910
2006–07 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 0 0 20 2 0 6.00 .800
2006–07 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 5 2 0 2 270 7 0 1.56 .948
2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 4 2 2 0 195 12 0 3.69 .882
2007–08 Albany River Rats AHL 58 28 25 4 3451 121 7 2.10 .931
2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 3 1 1 0 158 7 0 2.66 .897
AHL Totals 266 128 105 25 15697 602 29 2.30
NHL Totals 50 11 24 10 2807 141 3 3.01 .900

Statistics as of end of 2007–08 season.

[edit] Playoffs

   
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2001–02 Norfolk Admirals AHL 4 1 2 - 238 8 0 2.01 .927
2002–03 Norfolk Admirals AHL 4 3 1 - 240 7 1 1.75 .931
2003–04 Norfolk Admirals AHL 4 2 1 - 212 2 2 0.56 .978
2007–08 Albany River Rats AHL 7 3 4 - 510 10 2 1.18 .981
AHL Totals 19 9 8 - 1300 27 5 1.25 .980

[edit] References

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