Journeyman goalie Michael Leighton retires after 18 seasons, 21 pro teams

BOSTON - JANUARY 1: Michael Leighton #49 of the Philadelphia Flyers catches the puck against the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Bridgestone Winter Classic at Fenway Park on January 1, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
By Scott Powers
Oct 7, 2019

Michael Leighton hasn’t saved all his jerseys. He’d have a warehouse full of them if he did.

Leighton donned his goalie gear for 21 total pro teams in the regular season and playoffs. And that’s not counting his multiple go-arounds with the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers.

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Leighton has been selective about the jerseys he’s kept. He has about 25 of them in a closest in his home in LaSalle, Ontario. Now the hard part is figuring out which ones to frame in his basement.

So far, he’s thinking he’ll go with his OHL draft year, NHL draft year, first NHL game, 2010 Winter Classic, 2010 Stanley Cup final, AHL All-Star games and probably one from each of the NHL teams he played for throughout his career.

It’s a collection Leighton is proud of. You don’t set out to be a journeyman, but that’s the reality for some players. You come to accept that. As much as every player would love to stay with one organization from start to finish, longevity is more important. Leighton accomplished that. He adapted with every change in goalie style and was able to stop pucks for a long time. There’s a reason why his phone continued to ring late into his 30s.

“When you’re growing up and you want to play in the NHL and even when you’re in junior, you see all these guys with three- or four-year contracts and they’re staying in a city for 10 years,” Leighton said. “I guess you never look to think it’s possible you’ll be that guy that’s got a suitcase in his hand his whole career. You want to be that guy who stays in the same organization and plays a thousand games with the same organization and has a house, family all established in one city. People don’t realize it’s only a handful of people on every team that get that opportunity to do that. It was still great to play pro hockey and to play in the NHL, but obviously the traveling and moving around was tough.”

Now as Leighton chooses which jerseys to frame, the process is bittersweet. He’s always wanted to do it, but he was putting it off until there wouldn’t be any more jerseys to add to the display.

Today is that day. After 18 pro seasons, Leighton officially announced to The Athletic his retirement from professional hockey on Monday.

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“This is a really hard thing for me to say, I’m done playing, because I’ve done this my whole life,” Leighton said. “Since I was four or five years old, I’ve played hockey. It’s been my life. For me to just say I’m done playing is a tough decision. It’s just one that has to be made at this time.

“Since I was young, into high school, into pro hockey, marriage, kids, it’s not only been my life, but my family’s life, too. I have to say I’m very fortunate to play hockey for a living. It was always my dream. Obviously pretty proud and happy that I got to do that for a living. That’s what everyone wants — to do something they love for the rest of their life, to make a career out of it. I was able to do that, so I feel very fortunate.”

The decision wasn’t easy. It was his choice in the end, but he certainly would have picked up the phone if another team had called. He did so for a few AHL teams last season and held more than his own at 37 years old.

Michael Leighton had some of the best times of his career with the Flyers. (Len Redkoles / NHLI via Getty Images)

Leighton knew the end was nearing last season. And now at 38, he understands that in absolute terms.

“I’ve been probably looking at this for the last year,” said Leighton, who plans to stay in hockey and teach goaltending. “I knew it was going to come eventually. But it’s just time. I’m 38 years old now. For me to play in the AHL last year, I was the oldest guy in the league. I know the teams are going a lot younger, getting harder to find jobs. I just know it’s time. There’s not many teams looking for a 38-year-old goalie. A lot of them want to stick to 25-28 years old and try to keep a guy for two to three years, rather a one-year deal for an older guy. I knew it was coming eventually.

“I kind of didn’t train as hard this summer. The last two years, I’ve had a couple injuries here and there, but when I’m on the ice playing, I felt like I was performing well and felt good. Training-wise, even last year when I was waiting around until December, I was training really hard. I was in good shape. It has nothing to do with me saying I can’t play anymore, because I still feel like I could play.”

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Leighton’s career has been one of many twists and turns. He was traded five times within the NHL. He was claimed on waivers four times. He underwent seven surgeries. He went up to the NHL, down to the AHL, played one season in the KHL and relocated his family often.

As he reflected on it all, there was one person he thought of more than anyone: his wife, Jennifer.

“I’m appreciative for my wife and the sacrifices she made through my 18 years,” Leighton said. “I don’t think anybody can possibly understand what she’s been through with my career too. I want to thank her for all the sacrifices and support she’s shown over my career. Without her my dream of playing professional hockey definitely wouldn’t have gotten that far. Also, my kids, Ella, Annalise and Theodore, the sacrifices they made. I wasn’t always home, moving around was tough on them when they were younger, leaving their friends, traveling around with me. Thanks to them for being patient and understanding that was my dream and that’s what I had to do. Now I’m home and I get to spend a lot of time with them, skate with them, go to the ice and help out with their teams and activities.”


Let’s start with the saves.

In the NHL alone, Leighton recorded 3,052. In the AHL, the number is well over 10,000. He owns the AHL record with 50 career shutouts.

So, his favorites? That’s difficult to say, but he tried to pinpoint a few.

“Probably the biggest ones I made were the Winter Classic saves,” Leighton said of the 2010 game with the Flyers. “I made a splits save. There’s a great picture of it online. It’s dark in the background, it was a shot from the point and I’m making a splits glove save.”

The saves he made to help the Flyers defeat the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference final will always stand out, too.

“In the semifinals, there’s a save against P.K. Subban,” Leighton said. “I don’t know if it was a one-timer or slapper from the point through a screen, same thing, splits save. Not just the save, but the fact that after I saved it the crowd went nuts in Philly. They made a commercial about it. One of those ‘History will be made’ commercials. That’s cool.”

Leighton was nearly unbeatable throughout that series. Three of his four wins against the Canadiens were shutouts. The saves, the shutouts, the atmospheres — there’s a lot about that series Leighton will never forget.

“I would say that was one of the better buildings to play in the playoffs,” he said. “Going from Philadelphia to Montreal, those crowds were just electric, loud. I felt good. I know I got three shutouts, but as a goalie you get in a rhythm and you feel like nothing can beat you. That’s how I felt that whole series, and the team was playing great in front of me too. Guys were sacrificing to help me with shutouts at the end of games. It was just an all-around great series for us as a team and obviously me personally.”

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There is one shot Leighton would like to see again in those playoffs. Patrick Kane beat him in overtime in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final to clinch the series for the Blackhawks. He and Kane later briefly discussed that shot as teammates in Chicago.

To this day, Leighton and a lot of Flyers fans have mixed feelings about the ending of that season.

“There’s obviously a lot of disappointment still that burns inside of me that wishes I could have won and brought the championship to Philadelphia,” Leighton said. “But that whole playoff experience, that whole season, was definitely a positive for me. Got a lot of NHL games, playing in the semifinals, getting three shutouts against Montreal in a playoff series, just playing in the Stanley Cup finals. There’s a lot of goalies who play 15, 20 years in the NHL and never make it to the Stanley Cup finals. That’s still a great accomplishment for me personally. It obviously sucks we didn’t win, but still a highlight of my career to play in the playoffs and have a chance to play for the Cup.”

Flyers fans have a reputation for being tough, and Leighton has heard his share of insults. But he’s also received plenty of recognition too.

“I think there’s kind of mixed reviews on that, mixed feelings,” he said. “With the internet and social media, I still hear things here and there. I still hear it from many fans that they were appreciative of me, what I did for the team that year, just helping them get into the playoffs and getting them into the final. There’s always fans who I meet who shake my hand and say, thank you. They even tell me that was the most exciting time they’ve ever had watching hockey. To hear that obviously feels great.”


Alex Ovechkin fights for position in front of Michael Leighton during a game in 2009. (Gregg Forwerck / NHLI via Getty Images)

Most goalies have that one scorer they never want to see on the ice.

For Leighton, like many others, that was Alex Ovechkin.

“Every time he touched the puck or was shooting the puck, you had to be on your toes. … Yeah, he scored a couple on me,” Leighton said.

But he also stopped a few, including a memorable penalty shot in December 2008.

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“I can always say I stopped him on a penalty shot,” Leighton said.

Leighton remembers exactly how it went down.

“I had seen him do a penalty shot the night before, two nights before,” Leighton said. “He had been in a shootout. I had seen the move he did and kind of almost knew he was doing the same move the way he was coming in. Sure enough, he did the same move and I stayed with him the whole time. Thank god for video. You see Ovechkin coming down, he’s a shooter, right, so you think he’s going to shoot and he kind of does a fake shot and tries to go around you. I kind of read it all the way and stayed with him.”


Q&A with Michael Leighton

Who are some of your most memorable goalie partners?

For me, I had a lot of great goalie partners. I didn’t have too many I didn’t like. Jocelyn Thibault in Chicago, I think for me was the biggest for me personally because I was a young kid and he was in the NHL, an established All-Star goalie. I learned a lot from just watching him play. But off the ice, on the ice, he was just a great mentor for me. Even though I wasn’t with him that long, he was just one guy who was very humble, great goalie, worked hard. At a young age, I looked at him and said that’s how I want to be. He’s quiet but confident, great guy around the community, family guy, works his butt off in practice, all his teammates like him. That’s one guy who I really looked at early in my career. Even now I look back at him, that’s what I wanted to be and tried to mold myself to be.

How did you change as a goalie over the years?

The game’s definitely evolved over the 18 years of my career. I think a big part of my career was I was able to adjust to each new style that came in. I went from skate saves, two-pad slides when I was younger to butterfly to VH to RVH, so many styles I had to learn. I think that’s why I was able to play so long. I was able to adapt to those, try to mold my game around all of them. I’d still do some of the skills that I learned 12, 15 years ago, trying to implement those in my game now and try to be an all-around goalie and not just a straight butterfly guy or this kind of style. I tried to glue all the pieces of my techniques all together and mold myself that way as a goalie.

What will you miss about hockey?

I’ll definitely miss the competition. That’s something I’ve always done. Everything I do, I compete. If I go bowling with my wife, I want to beat her. That’s just the way I am. It’s in my blood. I grew up with two brothers and we competed in everything we did and I’m a competitive guy. Just not being on the ice with your friends, going to battle on the ice, playing games, that kind of stuff, I’ll miss.

What goalie coaches had an influence on you in your career?

When I was younger, Larry Lucas, he pretty much since I was 7 or 8 years old taught me the basics of goaltending. He kind of worked with me until I was 16 years old. I definitely feel like without him I wouldn’t have gone as far as I did. He just taught me the pure basics. He just kind of molded me when I was younger, when I was really small. Obviously he was very patient with me being so young.

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I would say Stephane Waite was a big influence on me my first couple years pro. He helped me when I was in Chicago and then I’d go to Quebec for his camp every summer and work with him. Jeff Reese was another goalie coach who helped me out in the NHL. Pretty much when I went to Philly, we talked, he helped tweak my game and I ended up having that season in 2010.

If there was one rule you could change for goalies in the NHL, what would it be?

I would like to see them get away from the trapezoid. That gives goalies who can play the puck better maybe an advantage. They can skate into the corner and play it. But also I think personally it can raise goal scoring because you’ll have more goalies that will mess up with the puck and make mistakes, so you’ll possibly have goals that way too. I think it lets the goalie be a little more creative, maybe put a line where he can go over the hash marks or something like that. But keep them in the corners. If a goalie wants to go play it and risk letting the net exposed, then go for it. There are some goalies that can really play the very well, and I feel like it’s a hidden talent now.

How do you hope you’re remembered as a player?

I hope I’m remembered for the good playoff run we had in Philly, that 2010 season. I would say just a guy who battled his whole career, worked hard and never gave up. Going up and down my whole career, I never packed it in and gave up on it. I just kept working hard and having fun with it.


Leighton was drafted by the Blackhawks in the sixth round in 1999 and played his final pro game on April 5, 2019. These were his thoughts on all his teams:

2001-2005

Norfolk Admirals (AHL), 159 games

“It was the first place I played pro. It was where I learned to be a pro. We had a great bunch of guys, great coaching staff. That’s just kind of how I developed my first three or four years up and down with Chicago. Good spot to play.”

Chicago Blackhawks (NHL), 43 games

Leighton made his NHL debut on Jan. 8, 2003, making 31 saves in a 0-0 tie against the Phoenix Coyotes at the United Center in Chicago. Coyotes goalie Zac Bierk made 40 saves.

“Getting told my first start in the NHL was pretty exciting,” Leighton said. “To play in Chicago and in a 0-0 tie, it went by so fast. It was obviously a great experience. Pretty cool to be a 0-0 tie and get a shutout my first game. After the game Zac Bierk gave me the puck, which was very classy of him to do that. It was his first shutout too, but him knowing it was my first game, it was nice of him to do that.”

Michael Leighton played for the Blackhawks a few times. (Rick Osentosk / USA Today)

2005-06 season

Buffalo Sabres (NHL), 0 games

Rochester Americans (AHL), 40 games

“I was traded to Buffalo. That was a disappointing trade. I went to a situation where they had three goalies in the NHL. I went pretty much playing in the NHL to the lockout season in Norfolk and then getting traded to a team that had three NHL goalies. We were split with Florida in Rochester in the affiliate. It was kind of a tough year for me there. I came off a stomach surgery. That was a great place to play in Rochester.”

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2006-07

Portland Pirates (AHL), 16 games

Nashville Predators (NHL), 1 game

Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), 4 games

Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL), 5 games

Montreal Canadiens (NHL), 0 games

“I signed with Anaheim. Portland, I was there for a month or two and then was being called to Anaheim because they had a few injuries. They kind of mentioned to me that I could possibly be there the rest of the year. That was the year they won the Stanley Cup, so that sucks. I got picked up on waivers a couple times that year. It was just crazy being picked up by Nashville and then put on waivers again after six or eight weeks I played one period with Nashville. Then I got picked up by Philadelphia. I think I got in three or four games with Philly and then put on waivers again and picked up my Montreal.

“It was a tough year. I didn’t play very much. It was great to be in the NHL and see all those great cities — Nashville, Montreal, Philly — but it was obviously a  tough year with the re-entry waivers kind of screwed me over that year.”

2007-2009

Albany River Rats (AHL), 65 games

Carolina Hurricanes (NHL), 29 games

“My rights were traded to Carolina at the draft. I had a really good season in Albany. I won the goalie of the year in the AHL that year. Then I signed a two-year deal with Carolina after that. It was good to get in that organization. I performed well and played well and things worked out from there on that.”

2009-2013

Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), 47 games

Adirondack Phantoms (AHL), 88 games

“Cam Ward got hurt in Carolina. They picked up Manny Legace and then I got put on waivers, cleared waivers and then Philadelphia had a few injuries. My agent called Philly and told them I’d play there, and they put me back on waivers and Philly picked me up. That was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got a chance to play, played well in Philly and a great season there and obviously made it to the Stanley Cup final.

“I was confident in my ability that I could still play in the NHL. When I went to Philly, we were out of a playoff spot and the team just seemed to kind of rally around me. I think I won my first eight or 10 games in a row. I was just playing well. The team playing was well. We got in a playoff spot. Everything was going great. I ended up getting a high ankle sprain which put me out of the last month of the season and first round of the playoffs. That obviously hurt a little bit, but besides that, did I think I was going to be playing in the Stanley Cup finals that year? No, definitely not after being put on waivers and not even getting picked up by a different team.”

Michael Leighton’s time in Columbus was brief. (Frederick Breedon / Getty Images)

2013

Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL), 0 games

“I got traded to Columbus at the trade deadline. I played one NHL game that (2012-13 season). That was a tough year for me with the lockout and then I played one game in Philly and I won in San Jose, and then I got traded to Columbus and they were right on the verge of a playoff spot and (Sergei) Bobrovsky was playing phenomenal, so they rode him all the way to the last game.”

2013-14

Donbass Donetsk (KHL), 50 games

“It was a tough year when you play one game all season. I still felt good. I still felt like I could play in the NHL. And then I went to free agency and there wasn’t much going on. I think just playing one game hurt me that season. That’s when I got a call to go to the Ukraine. The KHL was a different life, different hockey, definitely an experience.”

Michael Leighton prepares for a shot during a Rockford IceHogs practice. (Scott Powers / The Athletic)

2014-16

Blackhawks (NHL), 1 game

Rockford IceHogs (AHL), 96 games

“I actually signed to play one more year in Sochi, but I got sick. I had viral meningitis. They cancelled my contract, which I was fine with. I couldn’t go. I was just too sick. I got a call from Mark Bernard and Al MacIsaac, asking me what I’m doing and what my plans are. I told them about me being sick and all that stuff. They brought me in for a physical, signed a deal for them. Definitely just a right place at the right time. They needed a goalie and I was looking for a job and it worked out perfect.

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“I enjoyed my time there. It was good to go back to a great organization like Chicago. Rockford was a great place for me and my family. My family really liked it there. Definitely enjoyed my team there and getting a chance to go back to Chicago. It was tough for me; they had a couple good goalies in the organization with (Antti) Raanta and (Scott) Darling. I was kind of stuck to be that third or fourth guy in Rockford for a little while. It was still good. I got an opportunity to play and show that I could still play.”

Michael Leighton’s final NHL game came on Jan. 21, 2017 with the Carolina Hurricanes. (Jeff Curry / USA Today)

2016-17

Charlotte Checkers (AHL), 24 games

Carolina Hurricanes (NHL), 4 games

“Very similar to Chicago. I got to play in a lot of games in Charlotte, and they had an injury and got up top again, got a chance to get my feet wet in the NHL again. Charlotte is a great city. Going back to another organization I was familiar with was nice. I thought I did all right, thought I can still play. Grateful for the opportunity to keep playing in the NHL.”

2017-18

Syracuse Crunch (AHL), 9 games

Chicago Wolves (AHL), 5 games

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), 6 games

“That was a tough year. Definitely wasn’t one of my better years. I think I struggled for half of the season for sure. Once I went to Wilkes-Barre later in the year, I found my game back. Going from Syracuse to Arizona, I went to Tucson for two or three days, sitting at home waiting for a trade. That was a tough season all around until I went to Wilkes-Barre, got an opportunity to play again and played well. Kind of had to get my game back.”

2018-19

Ontario Reign (AHL), 3 games

Utica Comets (AHL), 19 games

“I went to Ontario, I thought I did Ok. Just not going to training camp, not skating a ton, was tough to get into the game situations. When I went to Utica, they gave me a full week of practice to get into it. I think I won my first five or six games in a row in Utica. Again, I still felt good. I still felt like I could play.  I always enjoyed playing. There was never a time I looked in the mirror and said I don’t want to do that anymore, I can’t do this anymore.”

(Top photo: Brian Babineau / NHLI via Getty Images)

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Scott Powers

Scott Powers is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Chicago Blackhawks. Previously, he covered the Blackhawks and the White Sox for ESPN Chicago. He has also written for the Daily Herald and the Chicago Sun-Times and has been a sportswriter in the Chicagoland area for the past 15 years. Follow Scott on Twitter @byscottpowers