Leighton sad to leave Philly
Daily News Flyers blog
Leighton sad to leave Philly
A mere minutes after the clock struck noon and ended Michael Leighton’s run on the waiver wire, Leighton walked into the Flyers’ locker room at Voorhees and began packing his bags for Glens Falls, N.Y.
Leighton had hoped to stay in the NHL, perhaps with a claim from the injury-riddled New York Islanders.
That didn’t happen. All 29 teams passed on Leighton by Tuesday’s noon deadline, ending Leighton's magical run with the Flyers.
“The hardest part is once you think you have security in life, you sign a two year deal, and you come into camp thinking you’re a starting goalie,” Leighton said. “Going from that mindset, 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.”
Believe it or not, he will actually earn more money in the AHL as opposed to the NHL, considering he won’t have to pay a league-mandated escrow which is upwards of 15 percent of his salary.
“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 bi-weekly. He would be more than an attractive option for teams on re-entry waivers, since they would only be responsible for the rest of this year’s salary at half of his prorated amount (today close to $390,000) and half of his salary next season ($775,000).
Leighton could only blame his injury for the demotion - nothing else. Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky have played extremely well in net. If Leighton wasn’t hurt to start the season, Bobrovsky would likely be playing in Glens Falls today instead of him.
“I’m really disappointed,” Leighton said. “The only thing I’m disappointed in is myself and the fact that I got injured. There’s nothing I could do about that. Everyone keeps telling me that it’s not my fault for what happened. If one of these guys weren’t playing well, it would’ve made their decision a little easier. Both of these guys are playing well.
“I just haven’t played a lot.”
A lot was riding on Leighton’s first audition back in the NHL last Thursday in Los Angeles. Two shaky goals in the first 5 minutes could not have helped his plight.
And the Flyers made the choice on Monday that they weren’t willing to jeopardize any wins this season - by not having their other two goalies well-enough prepared - to wait for Leighton to get back in gear.
“I played four games [on rehab in the AHL] and then I took 3 weeks off,” Leighton explained. “To come back and have two practices and then play one game, it’s tough. Some shaky goals went in. Whether it’s the rest of the year or at least for the next little while.
“I guess it just had to happen.”
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- No. Why when someone points out facts that cannot be disputed that person is suddently a family member of a player or the player himself? I am just someone who watches a lot of hockey and knows how to read stats. Give both a try and the rest is not too hard to figure out.
- hexy4gm...you nailed it. nice post.— john dorian
- ...I concur — petemagoop
- Glad they did this. It eases the mind of Bob for sure. Hopefully this will give him the confidence he is lacking now knowing that management believes in him. Same for Boosh, but what's going on in between the ears of Bob is a lot more important right now! Good move.— sima_down_nah
- Glad they did this. It eases the mind of Bob for sure. Hopefully this will give him the confidence he is lacking now knowing that management believes in him. Same for Boosh, but what's going on in between the ears of Bob is a lot more important right now! Good move.— sima_down_nah
- I don't think BOB has played "extremely well" Frank. He started off great but has looked pretty marginal in the last 4 to 6 weeks. Maybe BOB should have been sent to the AHL to try and regain his form.— BobbyD
- Agree. 10 GA in two starts doesn't even get to "well", much less "extremely well". But Bob hasn't lost his form. It's that now everybody just has the tape to see what his form is.
— icarus - Good goalie???? For what the ECHL? he had a good run, thats it and it was much appreciated. he is painful to watch,he lied to the organ-EYE-zation about his back problem. See ya and hope to never see ya again in a flyers sweater.— JohnnyN
This move shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. There was no way this team could carry these three goalies. The load will have to be on Boosh because BOB is not ready for primetime. Once again goaltending will prove to be the achilles heel for this team. All this talent and we still can't get a legitimate starting goalie. I swear this team is cursed...- The BHawks winning the Cup last year proves you do not need good goaltending to win it all. And Leighton had the best save percentage and second best GAA in the playoffs last year of all the goalies. I would hardly call that an achilles heel.
- If you have watched this team over the past 5-6 years, what has been the constant weakness...goaltending. They got close last year but Leighton let in soft goals at the worst possible times. History proves that solid goaltending is key to winning and the Flyers will prove again this year they don't have it. The curse I mentioned goes back to Pelle Lindbergh's death. Other than Hextall, they have never had a solid goaltender.
- You'll get a chance to save the Flyers season again when Boucher tanks. Laviolette doesn't trust Bobrovsky, he should be in the AHL instead of watching NHL teams score on Boucher from the blueline.
- Leighton is still an unknown quantity because of his back. If he does well w/ the Phantoms, GMs will be more inclined to scoop him off of re-entry waivers. Better hope Boucher stays healthy, 'cause a "Bob & Backlund" show could be ugly. Bob needs about 2 years of coaching to teach him to stand up. He hides his crest like no one I've ever seen.— icarus
- I'm not a Leighton fan, but I can't help feel bad for him. But, he should have been upfront with his injury status before the contract. If the need arises (injuries) I hope he can sneak through re-entry waivers.— max-power
- Snipes and Hexy ... President and VP (and only members) of the Leaky Leighton fan club. He's gone guys, forever. Back on the trash heap. History. The NHL has spoken. Deal with it.— eagle1971
