Michael "Mike" Leighton (born May 19, 1981 in Petrolia, Ontario) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender that played for the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League (AHL). He also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Carolina Hurricanes.

Career

Early
He started his career with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. He played 3 seasons and during that time he was named the All-star Team West Goalie in 2000.

NHL
He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks with the 165th overall pick in the 1999 NHL Entry draft.

He started his NHL career with the Blackhawks and during that time he became the first Blackhawks player to record a shutout in his debut. He competed with Craig Anderson for back-up duties and never really got to spend a complete season in the NHL during his time with Chicago.

On October 4, 2005, he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Milan Bartovic. He didn't appear in a game with the Sabres however and played the season with their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. The Sabres didn't tender him a qualifying offer in the off-season which made him an unrestricted free agent.

On July 13, 2006, he signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks. He played for the Ducks' farm team, the Portland Pirates. The Ducks called Leighton up when both their goalies Ilya Bryzgalov and Jean-Sébastien Giguère got injured but Leighton was claimed off waivers by the Nashville Predators before he could play. He only played 20 minutes of one game with the Predators and he was placed on waivers again.

On January 11, 2007, he was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers. After playing 4 games with the Flyers, he was placed on waivers and picked up by the Montreal Canadiens but didn't play a game with them because he had already finished the season.

During the off-season, the Canadiens traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

He first played for their farm team, the Albany River Rats but was called up to the NHL when John Grahame got sent down after he got placed on waivers. Leighton played 3 games and was sent back down to the River Rats. During his time with the River Rats he set an AHL record by making 98 saves on 101 shots, in a playoff game that went to 5 overtimes which was also an AHL record.

He played as the Hurricanes' backup goaltender, behind Cam Ward, during the 2008–09 NHL season. He played 19 regular season games but he didn't play in the playoffs, when the team advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. Ward suffered a leg injury in November 2009 and missed a month of play. The Hurricanes signed goaltender Manny Legace, who became the backup when Ward returned.

On December 15, 2009, Leighton was brought back to the Flyers when they claimed him off waivers to back up Brian Boucher while Ray Emery recovered from injury. On December 21, Leighton was given a starting role when Boucher suffered an injury. On January 1, 2010, he started in goal for the Flyers for the 2010 Winter Classic. During a playoff game against the Boston Bruins, Leighton stepped in for an injured Boucher to play in his first ever NHL playoff game where he helped keep Boucher's shutout in a 4-0 win. During the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals against the Montreal Canadiens, he only let in 7 goals in five games and recorded 3 shutouts as the Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the Chicago Blackhawks. Leighton started all six games of the Finals but struggled where he recorded a goals against average of 3.96 and a save percentage of 0.876. Leighton was the losing goalie in game 6 when the Blackhawks defeated the Flyers four games to two which ending with an overtime goal by Patrick Kane.

On June 30, 2010, he re-signed with the Flyers with a two-year deal. On January 3, 2011, the Flyer placed Leighton on waivers. He cleared waivers the next day and was assigned to the Adirondack Phantoms. He rejoined the Flyers three months later after he cleared re-entry waivers.

On July 1, 2012, he re-signed with the Flyers with a one-year contract and was announced as Ilya Bryzgalov's backup. He only played one game for the Flyers during the 2012–13 season and was traded along with a 2015 third-round draft pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Steve Mason.

Awards 
AHL First All-Star Team (2007-08)
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award (2007-08)
AHL All-Rookie Team (2001-02)
OHL All-star Team West Goalie (2000)

References

Other websites 

American Hockey League players
Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Carolina Hurricanes players
Chicago Blackhawks players
Columbus Blue Jackets players
Ice hockey people from Quebec
Living people
Nashville Predators players
Philadelphia Flyers players
1981 births
Ontario Hockey League players