Flyers Claim Michael Leighton off Waivers (Again)
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 1:00 PM EST
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Well, maybe John Grahame isn't the Flyers savior. According to CSNPhilly.com, Michael Leighton was claimed off waivers for the second time in his career by the Philadelphia Flyers today.
Having a hard time remembering Leighton? That's because he only played 4 games in the Orange and Black, and he wasn't very good. In the season that shall not be named, Leighton posted a 2-2-0 record with a 3.69 goals against average and .882 save percentage.
Why do the Flyers keep acquiring below-average goalies? I can't exactly tell you - since there's no proof they are any better than Johan Backlund - but I can point out the theme. Leighton played under Peter Laviolette in Carolina, just as John Grahame did.
The good news is that Leighton only has a $600,000 cap hit. The bad news is that he isn't very good. He has a career GAA of 3.10 to go along with his career .896 save percentage. This year, his numbers are even worse:
One of those losses was at the hands of the Flyers, a 6-1 shellacking on Halloween. I had the pleasure of being there that day, and I shockingly wasn't impressed by Leighton. Here are the highlights from that game:
Have any additional thoughts? Musings? Rantings? I suggest we don't overreact - if acquiring Stefan Legein wasn't a big deal at the time, how is this any different?
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At this point Geoff, do we really have any choice? As much as Leighton might be bad, we need a 3rd goalie in the organization. And hey, maybe he plays better for Laviolette
TAKE THE FALL, ACT HURT, GET INDIGNANT
by CoburnsCuddleBuddy on Dec 15, 2009 1:04 PM EST reply actions
I imagine he’s here in case Backlund clearly isn’t ready for the NHL, or he gets hurt. I don’t think he’ll be here long – as soon as Emery returns, I expect he gets waived.
I just hope he doesn’t take playing time away from anybody – mainly Riopel in Adirondack or Backlund, wherever he plays.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 1:07 PM EST up reply actions
Halak
Apparently Gainey has offered Halak to us. What’s his cap hit? And if so, then what, are we ditching Boucher or Leighton?
Meh
Let em keep Halak. I dont think hes that much better than Boucher, and we would probably have to give up something of at least a little value.
by philiafan14364 on Dec 15, 2009 2:10 PM EST up reply actions
Halak: $775,000, RFA after the season.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 2:25 PM EST up reply actions
$775K and agreed not really an upgrade there. There is not room for 6 goalies once Emery comes back(Backlund, Boosh, Riopel, Teslak, Leighton, and Emery).
I think it’s fairly obvious that Leighton would be waived in that situation immediately. Teslak would go back to the ECHL where he started the season, meaning the team would be back where they started the season. With Grahame on a tryout and the newly acquired Halak somewhere…
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 2:27 PM EST up reply actions
You missed the point I think, because you missed the key fact:
Leighton, 28, was placed on re-entry waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes Sunday.
That means the Flyers are only paying half the salary. If he’s as good as Backlund, it’s a smart move. Backlund goes back to the AHL and gets back to gaining experience by playing hockey (instead of modeling that toque hat as he’s been doing for the last week).
Forgot to mention the numbers.
Backlund’s cap hit is $800k. The Flyers are only on the hook for $300k to Leighton (both contracts obviously prorated and all).
So its half a mil saved against the cap.
The problem I have is that the difference in cap hit between Leighton and Backlund equals less than one Riley Cote. If the team wanted to save that money, why would you choose to cut back on goaltending AGAIN? If they needed cap space – which they don’t – why wouldn’t they put Cote on waivers?
Also, it will be seen whether they send Backlund back to the AHL, but I’d personally rather have Backlund play than Leighton. “If he’s as good as Backlund” was the key phrase in that. I think it’s clear from his numbers that he’s not very good, the question then becomes “How good is Backlund”, which were were asking before the Flyers took on a $300k cap hit.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 5:40 PM EST up reply actions
Cote played last night and tonight while Nodl was scratched. That tells me there’s some hockey-motivated reason he’s on the team.
Also, it will be seen whether they send Backlund back to the AHL, but I’d personally rather have Backlund play than Leighton. "If he’s as good as Backlund" was the key phrase in that. I think it’s clear from his numbers that he’s not very good, the question then becomes "How good is Backlund", which were were asking before the Flyers took on a $300k cap hit.
This part I don’t get. It seems to me you can determine they think the following:
Leighton + $1/2m cap space + Backlund playing in AHL
is greater than or equal to
Backlund on the bench of the AHL roster
We don’t have anything to base Backlund on. So you have to trust their assessment of their own players.
Yeah, he’s now played two straight games over Nodl. But he only played 2:25 last night. Either way, that’s not my point. My point is that if they wanted to save cap space, they can send someone down. Whether that’s Nodl, Cote, or Kalinski doesn’t matter. Either Nodl or Kalinski saves you Backlund’s salary and then some.
I was a bit unclear in describing that. Basically, I’m not opposed to having Leighton be our door opener and therefore having Backlund start in the AHL. What I don’t want is this team to determine that Leighton playing is better than Backlund playing.
I understand the equation, but I don’t think it’s $1.2 mil in cap space. They’ll be sending down $800k while taking on $300k, so you should subtract them rather than add them. Your equation should read “Leighton + $500k + Backlund playing in the AHL is greater than or equal to Backlund sitting in the NHL.”
Basically, the argument I love making and you love hating is my point here again. I would want the team to never start Leighton. Call up Backlund if they need to give Boosh a rest, but don’t drop him in the depth chart. I don’t mind the team claiming Leighton and paying him $300k to be a doorman. I do mind the team saying Leighton gives them a better chance to win.
Hopefully that’s clear.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 9:07 PM EST up reply actions
Do you want me to do a fanpost on this?
Because I just learned the other day that you’re wrong. It’s about the mechanics of LTIR. But as long as Gagne is on LTIR, they can’t save cap space by clearing the roster.
Again, its something I didn’t understand, either.
I’m not sure exactly what you’re referring to when saying they can’t save cap space by clearing the roster. Obviously, if you want to do a fanpost, you’re more than welcome. Your posts are always fantastically detailed and researched. I’m just not sure what you’d be writing on.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 10:47 PM EST up reply actions
Oh, and that wasn’t the typo you think it was. I really meant 1/2, as in one-half. Sorry for the confusion.
Ok. That makes a ton more sense.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 10:45 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed. They obviously needed a backup plan, especially if they can’t trust Backlund to do anything more than warm the end of the bench.
This probably already got discussed in the “in the market for a goalie” post a few days ago, but I read on Fanhouse that Vokoun in Florida might be available. Obviously, we’d have to send the Panthers some salary to be able to afford it.
Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com
by HockeyOutsiders on Dec 15, 2009 4:00 PM EST up reply actions
Vokoun is solid.
Not “5.7 million for a year and a half before losing him to free agency” solid, but solid.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
Speaking of free agency...
… the UFA goalies after this season, as of today.
I could see the Flyers maybe going after someone like Mason or Ellis, or perhaps even Pekka Rinne. That’s it though. Nabokov will be out of their price range, the Ducks will pull out all the stops to keep Hiller, and guys like Toskala and Threeorfour are overpriced as it is.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
I do not want Ellis, and Mason isn’t an improvement on Emery, IMO.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 5:34 PM EST up reply actions
More on topic, I fondly remember Leighton’s first two games as a Flyer. First they went out and beat the Blues, but the pinacle moment of his stint here was the 6-1 shellacking we gave the Red Wings with him in net. I remember Flyers fans for the next two days speculating on how great Leighton was and how we finally found a goaltender. (Typical of course for Flyers fans to overreact to a huge win)
Then of course, there was the next two games against the Leafs that he reverted back to the goaltender that everyone thought he was going to be when they signed him.
Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com
by HockeyOutsiders on Dec 15, 2009 4:10 PM EST reply actions
I think if given ice time Leighton could be a very good goalie. The Canes NEVER gave him that chance. For us he had games of brilliance and games of disapointment. He just needs to play alot of games to become consistent. Good Luck!
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
How was he last year, when the team was more competitive?
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
Adding to his time in Carolina
He finally had the chance to get some regular playing time when Cam went down. Then the Canes went out and picked up Manny Legacy and gave Legacy the starting role. And once again, Leighton was the odd man out.
"In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
It seems unfair
to use his numbers from this season. I mean, have you seen Carolina this season? When all three goalies you’ve tried “suck”, there might be going wrong than just the goaltending.
"In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
2.92 and .901 on the Eastern Conference runner-ups isn’t much better.
Also, on the same Carolina team, Legace earned the starting role. He posted a 3.07 and .901 this year. That means he stopped 5% more shots than Leighton giving up 1.2 goals less. Drastically better, and yet still really bad.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 6:30 PM EST up reply actions
Another Cane's Fan Chimes In
Micheal Leighton is a swell guy who has some good numbers as an AHL goalie. In the NHL, he is a compentent backup, at BEST.
Canescup and a few others have rang the Leighton bell for the last two years on the Cane’s Country blog, but from what I’ve seen it’s just been blind faith that the backup is better than the starter no matter who you are talking about. To each his own. But in my opinion, there is a reason the Hurricanes practically ran Cam Ward into the ground at the end of last season. They HAD TO WIN GAMES to get into the playoffs. The coaching staff and/or organization apparently had little to no confidence that they could put Leighton in that spot. Add to that the fact than Cam Ward was playing at the top of his game and was one of the best goaltenders in the league over the last two months of the season.
This year, the Canes got off to such a horrific start, and it was definitely a team effort, that the coaches again rode Cam Ward hard up until his injury. Would I have liked to see Leighton get a few more shots, especially in the second half of back to backs, just to see what he might be able to do? Sure. Was I upset that the team was riding Cam Ward night in and night out? Not really. He gave us a much better chance to win. The problems on this Canes team, this season, go FAR FAR beyond who is between the pipes.
As far as “games of brilliance and games of disappointment”, sadly I can’t say that I was witness to much brilliance in a Canes jersey from Leighton. There was that one game against San Jose last year, in their barn, where he turned in a great performance. And I seem to him playing really well as a call-up a few years ago against the Blues in St Louis. But unfortunately the last two games against the Flyers were more of the norm. He did have one game of brilliance 3 years ago in the AHL playoffs, where he stopped something like 94 out of 96 shots in a 5 overtime loss – but on the NHL level he has often looked slow and lost. His positioning in the crease is horrible, and he never seems to be able to take advantage of his size. Maybe you can chalk that up to lack of playing time, or maybe he’s just not quite good enough to earn the playing time.
All that said I wish him nothing but the best and hope he gets a shot to prove me wrong with you guys. And as has been stated before, I would take him over Jon Grahame in a heartbeat.
-m
Thank you for that. It’s always good to hear the “home” perspective.
Basically, I gather that he’s a quad-A type of guy. And at that point, I don’t want him.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2009 9:12 PM EST up reply actions
NOTICE
I am placing myself on Entry Waivers. I am a 25 year old Goaltender 5’11’’ 195, No real NHL Experience (similar to Backlund). If there is any team out there struggling to find a short term goalie replacement who is not going to have a huge cap hit, my cap hit last year was only $0, as I played 0 games.
From Frank Seravalli’s recap of the Penguins game:
Holmgren reiterated last night that Grahame was only signed to play in the AHL. A Flyers team source told the Daily News last night, though, that had the Flyers not nabbed Leighton, Grahame would have been in the NHL by Saturday.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 16, 2009 12:36 PM EST reply actions
I don’t even know what to make of that.
I guess that they really have no confidence in backlund at all.
Yeah. I read somewhere else that Holmgren said they’re still “really high” on Backlund, but who knows.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 16, 2009 1:44 PM EST up reply actions
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