For Leighton, an emotional move to the Phantoms

When the clock struck noon yesterday, Michael Leighton was left without a date for the dance.

Leighton was waived, for the fifth time in his NHL career, by the Flyers on Monday. He had hoped to stay in the NHL.

Leighton was passed over by all 29 NHL teams and officially cleared waivers yesterday. He was reassigned to the Adirondack Phantoms, likely putting a permanent cap on his magical 1-year run with the Flyers.

"The hardest part is once you think you have security in life, you sign a 2-year deal and you come into camp thinking you're a starting goalie," Leighton said as he packed his bags for Glens Falls, N.Y. "Going from that mind-set, to being injured and working to get that spot back, to going to the minors . . . It's tough.

"It's going to be tough on me and my family."

Leighton will still earn the entire 2-year, $3.1 million contract he signed with the Flyers on June 30, though he will do so in the AHL. Any team that claimed Leighton yesterday - and it looked like the Islanders might be interested with oft-injured star Rick DiPietro going down again Monday in Calgary - also would have needed to pay Leighton his full salary.

Leighton actually will earn more in the AHL than he would in the NHL since he does not have to pay an approximate 15 percent of his salary in escrow that NHL players are subjected to as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

"I just want to be in the NHL," Leighton said. "I want to go down and work on my game and get back to where I should be. That's all I can control. I want to get back here. I hope it happens.

"It's tough to leave. I love all of these guys in the [locker] room, these guys become family. On the other hand, I'm not gone. I'm still part of the organization. I've got to work hard and try to get back."

In a lot of ways, Leighton is gone from the organization, though Comcast-Spectacor will still cut his checks biweekly. He would be more than an attractive option for teams if the Flyers were to recall him on re-entry waivers, where teams could claim him for half the price.

It was a poignant scene yesterday in the Flyers' locker room as Leighton literally packed his bags in front of his teammates and the media after learning the news.

"It sucks," captain Mike Richards said. "You never really like to see a guy leave, especially a guy that we've had success with before that is extremely well-liked around the hockey team. It's a business. It's the worst part of the business."

General manager Paul Holmgren said Monday that he knew Leighton needed extra work to get back to where he needed to be. The Flyers just weren't willing to risk wins - via a lack of preparation by Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky - to wait for him.

"It's a tough, tough position for them to play," coach Peter Laviolette said. "We managed it. Your goaltenders are sharing nets out there and it's difficult for them to stay sharp. Not to get the ice time they need can start to take its toll."

Leighton only got one shot - last Thursday in Los Angeles - to keep his spot in the rotation. Despite beating the Kings, Leighton admitted he allowed "four shaky goals."

"I just haven't played enough," he said. "I would have liked the opportunity to play a few more games. The team doesn't have time to give me two or three games in a row just to see how I do."

The biggest thing now, as Leighton transitions from the Stanley Cup finals to the small-town Glens Falls Civic Center, will be coping with the decision mentally. If he hadn't suffered a herniated disk in his lower back, Leighton likely still would be starting for the first-place Flyers.

"I'm really disappointed," Leighton said, with tears forming in his eyes. "I'm disappointed in myself and the fact that I got injured. There's nothing I can do about that. If one of these guys weren't playing well, it might have made for an easier decision. Everyone keeps telling me that it's not my fault for what happened. It's tough to leave. I guess it just had to happen."

Nik Zherdev, who limped off the ice yesterday after just 20 minutes, told the Daily News that he is suffering from a groin strain and not a thigh bruise as was reported by other outlets. GM Paul Holmgren said Zherdev will not practice today and will be re-evaluated tomorrow, unlikely to play at New Jersey. Zherdev called himself "day-to-day."

Defenseman Chris Pronger, who had two screws surgically inserted to strengthen a fracture in a foot on Dec. 17, had a preliminary CT scan yesterday. Holmgren said the images show healing but the Flyers will know more today after an examination by Dr. Steven Raikin.

With Michael Leighton back in Adirondack, the Flyers are under the daily salary cap and don't need a long-term injured reserve allowance for the first time all season . . . Coach Peter Laviolette was a surprise guest yesterday at Kresson Elementary School in Voorhees, visiting his daughter Elizabeth's third-grade class to talk about the Flyers . . . Without clearing more space, the Flyers still are not able to accommodate Ville Leino with a contract extension because of the NHL's "tagging rule," which doesn't allow them to exceed this year's cap in next year's salary commitments.

For more news and analysis, read Frank Seravalli's blog, Frequent Flyers, at

http://go.philly.com/frequentflyers.