Michael Leighton

Michael W. Leighton (born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes.

Leighton grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Petrolia, Ontario, for the Petrolia Oilers of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association's Bluewater League. He played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Lambton County. At age 16, he played for the Petrolia Jets Jr.B. team of the Ontario Hockey Association's Western Ontario Hockey League before being drafted by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Windsor Spitfires in the third round, 56th overall, of the 1998 OHL Priority Selection.

Leighton began impressing scouts while playing for the Spitfires. 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 season.

Leighton played two seasons in the American Hockey League (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. Bierk also earned his first career shutout, although it was not his NHL debut. It was the first time that two goaltenders in the same game both earned their first career shutouts. Leighton would compete with Craig Anderson for backup duties with Chicago, having never spent a complete season in the NHL with the team.^{[citation needed]}

Leighton would continue to play in the Blackhawks' organization until October 4, 2005, when he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Milan Bartovič. He did not appear in a game with the Sabres, as he spent the season with their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Buffalo did not tender him a qualifying offer in the off-season and he became an unrestricted free agent. On July 13, 2006, Leighton signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks, and the organization assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, following training camp. 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 20 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. He was picked up by the Montreal Canadiens on February 27, but he finished the season without playing a game for his new team. Montreal traded him in the off-season to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a seventh-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 3, 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 five overtimes, also an AHL record.

Leighton was the Hurricanes' backup goaltender, behind Cam Ward, during the 2008–09 season. He appeared in 19 regular season games but did not play in the playoffs, when the Hurricanes advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. In November 2009, Ward suffered a leg injury which caused him to miss more than a month of play; during that time, the team signed veteran Manny Legace, who became the backup when Ward returned. Leighton was then expendable. On December 15, 2009, Leighton was claimed off waivers by the Flyers organization in order to back-up Brian Boucher while Ray Emery recovered from injury. On December 21, Boucher suffered an injury, and Leighton found himself in a starting role. On December 26, just 11 days after being waived, Leighton returned to Raleigh, North Carolina, as the Flyers defeated Carolina 4–3 in a shootout. Leighton earned the start in goal for the Flyers on January 1 at the 2010 Winter Classic. He performed well on the national stage, but the Flyers ultimately fell to the Boston Bruins 2–1 in overtime.

After the Winter Classic, Emery returned, and Leighton officially supplanted Boucher as the backup. Emery played his final game in February 2010, however, when he was diagnosed with a genetic hip disorder. Leighton carried the load with some great success, but his regular season came to an end in Nashville in March, forcing Boucher back into the spotlight. On May 10, 2010, Boucher was once again injured in a playoff game against the Bruins. Leighton stepped in for his first ever NHL playoff action to continue Boucher's shutout, with the Flyers ultimately winning 4–0. At that point, Leighton had not even been dressing as he was still recovering from the injury sustained in Nashville, and the Game 5 he relieved Boucher in was his first game dressing since March. Leighton then started and won the next two games, helping the Flyers achieve a feat only three other teams in NHL history have been able to ever accomplish (1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1974–75 New York Islanders and 2013–14 Los Angeles Kings) to come back from a 3–0 deficit and win a series.