Michael Leighton
Michael W. Leighton | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 19, 1981 Petrolia, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey goaltender (retired), assistant coach |
| Years active | 2001–2019 (player) |
| Known for | NHL goaltender for Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes; assistant coach for Detroit Red Wings |
Michael W. Leighton (born May 19, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) for teams including the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Carolina Hurricanes. He currently holds the position of assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings.
Playing career
Leighton's hockey journey started in Petrolia, Ontario, where he played minor hockey with the Petrolia Oilers and participated in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. At age 16, he advanced to Jr.B. hockey before being selected 56th overall by the Windsor Spitfires in the 1998 OHL Priority Selection. After showcasing his abilities in the OHL, he was drafted 165th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and signed an entry-level contract prior to the 2001–02 season.
He spent two seasons developing in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals before making his NHL debut on January 8, 2003, where he recorded a shutout—a noteworthy accomplishment signaling his potential. While competing for backup goaltending responsibilities alongside Craig Anderson, Leighton was unable to secure a full NHL season with Chicago.
On October 4, 2005, Leighton was traded to the Buffalo Sabres but spent that year playing for their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. After entering free agency, he signed with the Anaheim Ducks in 2006 but was claimed off waivers by the Nashville Predators later that year. Shortly thereafter, Philadelphia Flyers claimed him off waivers, where he began to solidify his role as a dependable backup goaltender.
Throughout his career, Leighton experienced brief periods with several organizations through waivers and trades—including stints with the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes—frequently transitioning between NHL rosters and their AHL affiliates. A highlight occurred on April 24, 2008, when he set an AHL playoff record by making 98 saves during a marathon five-overtime game.
In the 2008–09 season, Leighton served as Cam Ward’s backup with the Hurricanes before being reclaimed off waivers by the Flyers in December 2009. Injuries to starting goaltenders provided Leighton opportunities to assume a starting role, earning acclaim for his performances including starting in the prominent 2010 Winter Classic. His most notable achievement came during the 2010 playoffs when he played a key role in leading Philadelphia from a 3–0 series deficit to win their first-round matchup—a rare feat in NHL history.
Leighton started all six games of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals against Chicago but faced challenges as Philadelphia lost in six games. Following this run, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Flyers but underwent back surgery late that year. Competition within Philadelphia’s goaltending ranks resulted in him being waived and assigned intermittently to their AHL affiliate over subsequent seasons.
In April 2013, Leighton was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets as a backup option but did not appear in any games. He then signed contracts with KHL teams HC Donbass and HC Sochi; however, illness led to his Sochi deal being voided.
Returning to North America in August 2014, Leighton re-signed with Chicago on a two-way contract and primarily played for their AHL team, Rockford IceHogs. During this tenure, he made one NHL relief appearance before signing again with Carolina Hurricanes in September 2016.
The following year saw Leighton sign a one-year two-way contract with Tampa Bay Lightning and assigned to their AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch. Mid-season trades sent him to Arizona Coyotes and briefly loaned him to Chicago Wolves before being dealt to Pittsburgh Penguins in December 2017.
In November 2018, Leighton signed professional try-out agreements with AHL clubs Ontario Reign and later Utica Comets. In February 2019, he secured a one-year two-way deal with Vancouver Canucks but primarily remained at the AHL level before announcing his retirement on October 7, 2019.
Leighton was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2025 and currently serves as goaltending coach under Todd McLellan with the Detroit Red Wings coaching staff.
Personal
Leighton relocated to Sarnia at the age of four and has resided in LaSalle, Ontario for the last ten years alongside his wife Jennifer and their three children, all of whom play hockey. He remains deeply involved in supporting their hockey activities.
Records
- Holds the NHL record for the most shutouts in a single Stanley Cup Playoffs series: 3 (2010 Eastern Conference Finals against the Montreal Canadiens, tied)
- Leading career regular season wins (75) and shutouts (18) holder for the Norfolk Admirals franchise
- The first goaltender in Chicago Blackhawks history to achieve a shutout during his debut game
- Set the AHL record for the highest number of saves in a single game: 98
- Holds the regular season shutout records for both a single season (6) and overall career (6) with HC Donbass
- Participated in the second longest games recorded in both AHL and KHL history
- Owns the AHL record for most career shutouts: 50
Regular season and playoffs
۲۰۱۷-۱۸ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL ۶ ۵ ٠ ١ ٣٨٣ ١٧ ٠ ٢٫٦٧ ٠٫٩١٣ - - - - - - - - ۲۰۱۸-۱۹ Ontario Reign AHL ٣ ١ ١ ٠ ١٦٢ ١٢ ٠ ٤٫٤٦ ٠٫٨٥٩ - - - - - - - - 2018–19 Utica Comets AHL 19 8 9 1 1065 48 ０ ２．７０ ．９０１ － － － － － － － －| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T/OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1997–98 | Petrolia Jets | OHA-B | 30 | — | — | — | 1583 | 87 | 2 | 3.30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1998–99 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 28 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 1389 | 112 | 0 | 4.84 | .867 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 80 | 10 | 0 | 7.50 | .884 | ||
| 1999–00 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 42 | 17 | 17 | 2 | 2272 | 118 | 1 | 3.12 | .889 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 616 | 32 | 0 | 3.12 | .915 | ||
| 2000–01 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 54 | 32 | 13 | 5 | 3035 | 138 | 2 | 2.73 | .910 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 519 | 27 | 1 | 3.12 | .906 | ||
| 2001–02 | Norfolk Admirals | American Hockey League | 52 | 27 | 16 | 8 | 3114 | 111 | 6 | 2.14 | .920 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 238 | 8 | 0 | 2.02 | .927 | ||
| 2002–03 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 36 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 2184 | 91 | 4 | 2.50 | .912 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 240 | 7 | 1 | 1.75 | .931 | ||
| 2002–03 | Chicago Blackhawks | National Hockey League | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 447 | 21 | 1 | 2.82 | .913 | ||||||||||
| 2003–04 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 18 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1081 | 33 | 1 | 1.83 | .926 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 212
│ 2 │ 2 │ 0.56 │ .978 │ |- ALIGN="center" │2003–04 │Chicago Blackhawks │NHL │34 │6 │18 │8 │1988 │99 │2 │2.99 │.900 │- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │2004–05 │Norfolk Admirals │AHL │41 │20 │16 │3 │2319 │78 │7 │2.02 │.921 │- ALIGN="center" │2005–06 │Rochester Americans │AHL │40 │15 │22 │1 │2316 │124 │2 │3.21 │.887 │- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │2006–07 │Portland Pirates │AHL │16 │8 │6 │1 │962 │37 │2 │2.31 │.910 │- ALIGN="center" │2006–07 │Nashville Predators │NHL │1 │0 │0 │0 │20 │2 │0 │6.00 │.800 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │2006–07 │Philadelphia Phantoms │AHL │5 │2 │0 │2 │270 │7 │0 │1.56 │.948 |- ALIGN="center" │2006–07 │Philadelphia Flyers │NHL │4 │2 │2 │0 │195 │12 │0 │3.69 │.882 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │2007–08 ┃Albany River Rats ┃AHL ┃58 ┃28 ┃25 ┃4 ┃3451 ┃121 ┃7 ┃2.10 ┃.931 ┃7 ┃3 ┃4 ┃510 ┃10 ┃2 ┃1.18 ┃.968 |- ALIGN="center" │2007–08 ┃Carolina Hurricanes ┃NHL ┃3 ┃1 ┃1 ┃0 ┃158 ┃7 ┃0 ┃2.66 ┃.897 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │2008–09 ┃Carolina Hurricanes ┃NHL ┃19 ┃6 ┃7 ┃2 ┃1029 ┃50 ┃0 ┃2.92 ┃.901 |- ALIGN="center" │2009–10 ┃Carolina Hurricanes ┃NHL ┃7 ┃1 ┃4 ┃0 ┃350 ┃25 ┃0 ┃4.28 ┃.850 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │2009–10 ╣Philadelphia Flyers ╠NHL ╠27 ╠16 ╠5 ╠2 ╠1449 ╠60 ╠1 ╠2.48 ╠.920 ╠14 ╠8 ╠3 ╠757 ╠31 ╠3 ╠2.46 ╠.916 |- ALIGN="center" │2010–11 ░Adirondack Phantoms ░AHL ░30 ░14 ░12 ░3 ░1783 ░66 ░5 ░2.22 ░ .926 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │2010–11 ▒Philadelphia Flyers ▒NHL ▒1 ▒1 ▒۰ ▒۰ ▒60 ▒۴ ▒۰ ▒۴٫۰۰ ▒ .۸۸۹ ▒۲ ▒۰ ▒۱ ▒۷۰ ▒۴ ▒۰ ▒۳٫۴۳ ▒ .۸۶۲ |- ALIGN="center" │2011–12 ▓Adirondack Phantoms ▓AHL ▓56 ▓28 ▓26 ▓۱ ▓3237 ▓139 ▓۲ ▓۲٫۵۸ ▓ .۹۱۸ |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f۰ f۰ f۰" │201۲-13 ▁Philadelphia Flyers ▁NHL ▁۱ ▁۰ ▁۱ ▁۰ ▁۵۹ ▁۵ ▁۰ ▁۵٫۰۸ ▁ .۸۰۸ |- ALIGN=center> │۲۰۱۲-۱۳ ▁Adirondack Phantoms ▁AHL ▁۲ ▁۱ ▁۱ ▁۰ ▁۱۱۹ ▁۴ ▁۰ ▁۲٫۰۲ ▁ .۹۳۳ |- ALIGN=center> bgcolor=# f۰ f۰ f۰> │۲۰۱۳-۱۴ ▁HC Donbass ▁KHL ▁۴۲ ▁۲۰ ▁۱۵ ▁۶ ▁۲۴۴۸ ▁۷۱ ▁۶ ▁۱٫۷۴ ▁ .۹۳۳ ▁۸ ▁۳ ▁۴ ▁۴۶۷ ▁۲۰ ▁۰ ▁۲٫۵۷ .۹۰۸ |- ALIGN=center> │۲۰۱۴-۱۵ Rockford IceHogs AHL ۴۲ ۲۲ ۱۳ ۴ ۲۳۹۱ ۹۰ ۵ ۲٫۲۶ .۹۲۰ ۸ ۴ ۳ ۴۴۰ ۱۹ ۰ ۲٫۵۹ .۹۱۹ |- ALIGN=center> bgcolor=# f۰ f۰ f۰> │۲۰۱۵-۱۶ Rockford IceHogs AHL ۴۶ ۲۸ ۸ ۸ ۲۵۸۵ ۱۰۵ ۵ ۲٫۴۴ .۹۱۸ |- ALIGN=center> │۲۰۱۵-۱۶ Chicago Blackhawks NHL ۱ ۰ ۰ ۰ ۴۰ ۱ ۰ ۱٫۵۲ .۹۴۱ |- ALIGN=center> bgcolor=# f۰۰ f۰۰ f۰۰> │۲۰۱۶-۱۷ Charlotte Checkers AHL ۲۳ ۱۱ ۷ ۳ ۱۳۲۶ ۴۸ ۳ ۲٫۱۷ .۹۲۱ ۱ ۰ ۱ ۵۲ ۱ ۰ ۱٫۱۵ .۹۳۳ |- ALIGN=center> │۲۰۱۶-۱۷ Carolina Hurricanes NHL ۴ ۲ ۲ ۰ ۲۱۱ ۱۲ ۰ ۳٫۴۳ .۸۷۰ |- ALIGN=center> bgcolor=# f۰۰ f۰۰ f۰۰> │۲۰۱۷-۱۸ Syracuse Crunch AHL ۹ ۳ ۳ ۲ ۴۷۶ ۲۴ ۰ ۳٫۰۳ .۸۶۸ |- ALIGN=center> ۲۰۱۷-۱۸ Chicago Wolves AHL ۵ ۱ ۱ ۲ 247 ۱۴ ١ ٣٫٤٠ ٠٫٨٦٩ - - - - - - - - | ||||||
| colspan=3 align=center AHL totals !507 !250 !186 !50 !29,471 !1169 !50 !２．３８ !．９１６ !28 !13 !12 !169２ !47 !５ !１．６７ !．９４６ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=3 align=center NHL totals !110 !37 !43 !14 !6004 !298 !４ !２．９８ !．９００ !16 !８ !４ !827 !35 !３ !２．５４ !．９１３ | |||||||||||||||||||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| OHL | |
| West Division All-Star Team | 2000 |
| AHL | |
| All-Rookie Team | 2002 |
| Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award | 2008 |
| First Team All-Star | 2008 |
| AHL All-Star Classic Appearances | 2002, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2017 |
| AHL Hall of Fame | 2025 |