Flyers keep Leighton on injured reserve
Daily News Flyers blog
Flyers keep Leighton on injured reserve
UPDATE (4:00 p.m.): The NHL has granted the Flyers permission to send Michael Leighton to Adirondack this weekend for two more games. Read more below.
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After playing in his first meaningful games since the Stanley Cup Final this weekend with the Adirondack Phantoms on a rehab assignment, Michael Leighton says he needs more time.
That’s why the Flyers asked the NHL for an extension this morning, allowing Leighton – who is still on the long-term injured reserve – to play another two games with the Phantoms this weekend to continue his rehab.
Under the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Leighton was permitted one rehab stint of either six days or three games. That can be extended once and only once.
“He came through the games this weekend good,” Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said on a conference call. “But in my opinion, he still needs some work. We filed for a rehab extension this morning.
“Obviously, two games is better than no games.”
Leighton is apparently still feeling the effects of his surgery from Oct. 11, in which he had a herniated disk repaired. The disk was affecting a nerve in his left foot, which continues to give him numbness and pain in net.
“It’s still the same issue I had a little while ago,” Leighton said. “It’s still not 100-percent. My back feels pretty good. But it’s not just the numbness, it’s strength. The doctor said the nerve needs to regenerate itself. They aren’t sure when that will happen.
“In certain movements, it doesn’t feel right. It does not feel as comfortable as the other foot. I think the best thing for me now is to play games.”
The Phantoms play Friday night in Syracuse, N.Y., Saturday in Glens Falls, N.Y., against Portland and Sunday in Hartford, Conn., against the Connecticut Whale.
Leighton also received some much needed practice time with the Phantoms, where he could have an entire net to himself instead of sharing one with Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher.
Leighton’s possible return to the Phantoms delays the Flyers’ inevitable roster decisions at least another week. Even then, the Flyers could just choose to keep Leighton – if he is not fully healthy – on the long-term injured list for the balance of the season, though that seems unlikely.
“I’m not sure we’d have to do anything,” Holmgren said. “To add him to the roster, we would have to make some sort of roster move to take him off [LTIR] and add him to our team. But I’d be leary about adding him and not having some other sort of insurance policy with another [backup] goalie.”
That’s why Holmgren said if Leighton is healthy, he wouldn’t be opposed to “keeping three goaltenders for the foreseeable future.”
“I obviously want to play,” Leighton said. “But I don’t want to come back and not be 100 percent, that doesn’t help the team.”
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
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I've had back injuries. This doesn't sound good. But they need to keep 3 goalies. You never know in this league. From Fleury, Tim Thomas, Jiggy, Brodeur to Neimi, you never know who will get injured, who has a Cup year, or who is just good enough. Perfect timing to trade JVR now while his stock is on the rise.— MichaelZoe- Comment removed.
- Backlund is out with a high ankle sprain...— BobbyD
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- Praise be to Fonzie...aaaaeeeeyyyy. Not making light of back ailments at all, just do not like Leighton.— JohnnyN
- Trade JVR? Where the heck is that coming from— Ernie D
i'd be for them carrying 3 goalies, we needed all them last season.— azguz- Comment removed.
- Leighton has become much more of a headache than he's worth (which isn't much). Hopefully Backlund mends quickly as the emergency third guy behind Bob and Boucher, but I can see getting hurt trying to cover for that horrendous Phantoms defense.— eagle1971
- Three goalies don;t work. Look at the Islanders last season. Plus, this team has enough cap issues. Why make it worse by keeping a third goalie with a $1.5 million hit? Not sure if I'd keep him or Boucher. But, Bob has to stay.— NYluvsPhylers
- We certainly have cap issues ahead of us if we're looking to resign Leino before the summer.— bpkrier
Michael Leighton = Wally Pipp?— schultz8- I have a feeling they're going to send Bob down under the guise he needs more experience. They'll play Bouch and Leighton just like last year and if one of the stinks out the house , that goalie will be cut and they'll bring Bob back up. Bob will then have picked up bad habits from playing with a bad Phanthoms team and will never be heard from again. I don't want to be negative, but except for Bob never being heard from again, this is what will happen.
- Trade JVR? Huh? The two trades on my list are Coburn and Carter. Both looked great a few years ago when the Flyers were an average team. They've upgraded in every facet and now Coburn and Carter look average. The rise of JVR and Nodl has made Carter moveable. The acquisitions of Mezaros, O'Donnell and Walker make Coburn very, very tradable. We can only hope.
Regarding moving Bob to the Phantoms, no way.— brownbeer - Comment removed.
- Waive goodbye. BUUUHHHH BBYYYYE— NYPHILLYPHAN
- Trade Coburn? He was money two seasons ago, played great down the stretch last year, and has been great this year. He laid out Crosby in the opening game of the season and also flattened Ovechkin. With Meszaros and O'Donnell, two guys who actually hit, he is not the only physical d-man we have now, but in my opinion you can never have enough physical D. He stays, obviously.
- Cap wise, the Flyers way underspend at goal (interestingly, so do all of the other top 5 teams in the NHL, except for Pitts., and that hasn't worked so well for them this year), so I am not at all stressed about carrying Leighton as the backup, even if Boosh sticks around too. Many teams pay more than that for 1 goalie and get burned. Goalie by committee gives us the best chance of having someone hot when it counts. At times, Boosh, Bob, or Leighton are each superior to the other and the Flyers have been wise not to tie up too much $$ in one keeper (Islanders any one?).
- Try to sneak Boucher through waivers & down to the Phantoms. If we lose him, we lose him. Probably not much in return in a trade. He's been a faithful soldier for the Flyers, and I'm very appreciative of his service, but I think Bob & Leighton are the team's best two goalies and we don't have cap room to burn to carry three goalies.— 88etrain
- Yesterday's attendance at the Flyers-Islanders game in New York: 7,773
Yesterday's attendance at the Phantoms-Devils game in Atlantic City: 5,134— AreaMan 
ML is too injury prone. They will LTIR Lappy or Walker and keep 3 goalies for the remainder of the season. Bob is the undeniable starter on this team now. Carter, Coburn nor JVR will be traded. In fact this team is fine. The way Nodl has been playing has given Richie a viable threat on the wing. I really wish Z wasn't lazy, the dude has fantastic skill. He'll be gone next year and Leino will get most of his 2 mill. The cap will go up and the team will be rounded out with roll players. They're fine. Oh yea....why did they sign Jody Shelley? I still can't figure that out.
