Disclaimer: I’m taking this article from the Flyers’ site with a grain of salt (or several grains), but it’s worth bringing up for discussion the fact that our goalie coach has supposedly made adjustments to the way Leighton plays since arriving here. Here’s the quote from Bill Fleischman’s article on the Flyers’ website:

Leighton, 28, has been a revelation. Until he took over for the injured Emery in December, the 6-3, 186-pound Leighton has never established himself as an NHL goaltender. Since then, aided by tips from goaltender coach Jeff Reese, he has played like a poised veteran. Leighton is 12-3-1 with a 2.19 goals against average and .925 save percentage for Philadelphia since being claimed off of waivers by the club.

"Michael has played very well," Holmgren said. "Jeff made a couple changes in how Michael positions himself. He’s got him back in the net a little more because a bigger guy he doesn’t need to get out as much as a smaller goaltender."

Could this be part of the reason for better numbers? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s probably worth discussing, at least.

Can we please have a Michael Leighton Poll of Confidence?

I get the feeling the issue of riding him to (and through) the playoffs is a bit of a contentious one. Some people are obviously hugely in favour of letting him be the King of the Flyers net (I’m looking at you, Mr Rothenberg), whereas others such as myself don’t feel he has all of what it takes. To be honest, the best thing I think he’s got going for him is his awesome pads.

I propose a poll! The best and fairest way of determining Leighton’s future. But I don’t have enough time to put it together right now, so if anyone got a spare moment I say go for it.

Why is no one discussing what DragonGirl wrote?

In other threads we’ve talked about things like this: “Crosby initially sucked at faceoffs, but he worked on them and is now good at them.”

Why can’t we say the same for Leighton? His biggest problem in the past was positioning because he used to come too far out of his net. He has now learned to stay back in the net and it has made a big difference.

Part of the issue is that we give players like Crosby a pass because of their talent. Since Crosby is so good at passing, it’s no wonder he’s become good at scoring. His talent level is so high that it’s no wonder that he became good at faceoffs, too. We accept things like this and move on.

Leighton is a different story because his NHL career is less than distinguished until now. But it’s not like he’s a complete hack who drank a magic elixir. He has solid AHL numbers; he just has not been able to translate that success to the NHL level. It could well be that a simple change of approach to his positioning has made all of the difference in the world.

Disclaimer: I am not about to compare Leighton to Bernie Parent. But let’s look at Bernie Parent now. Why Parent?

• His GAA from his first seven NHL seasons (excluding his year in the WHA with the Blazers) averages out to 2.94.
• Before he was traded to Toronto, his career GAA was 3.01.
• His career GAA with the Flyers (pre-1973) was 2.68.
• He went to Toronto and learned from his hero/mentor, Jacques Plante. His GAA in Toronto was a 2.60 over two seasons, but it’s worth mentioning that he left Philadelphia in 1971 with a 2.76 GAA and left Toronto in 1972 with a 2.56 GAA. His numbers improved because he learned how to be better (even though the Leafs were only marginally better than the Flyers were in the early 1970s).
• After a lost year in the startup WHA, Parent came back to Philadelphia with his new-found knowledge. He learned how to be a better goalie; when he got to play for a good team (the 1973-74 Cup Champion Flyers), he posted a 1.89 GAA. The rest, as they say, is history.

Parent is proof that talent does not always reveal itself instantly, especially in the case of goaltenders.

Am I saying that Leighton is going to be the next Bernie Parent? Absolutely not. But learning about something as simple as positioning could make all of the difference for the rest of his NHL career. Is he going to post a .925 SV% every year from here on out? Not bloody likely. But who’s to say that – given the opportunity – his NHL numbers won’t finish closer to where his AHL numbers are?

I know that a lot of us are married to stats, so to speak. As I’ve said time and again, they are very valuable and there is a lot to learn from them. But to me, what’s missing from a statistical argument is the “Why?” of it all.

Back to Bernie Parent. We can see that he was an average goalie before the Cup years. But WHY was he?

• He played on bad teams.
• He needed to work on things he didn’t know he needed to work on.

Now, Mr. Leighton. We can see that he was a mediocre goalie AT BEST before this season. But WHY was he?

• He played on bad teams (for the most part).
• He needed to work on things he didn’t know he needed to work on.

As DragonGirl said, this is worthy of discussion. The numbers are valuable and really allow us to see where Leighton has been and where he is now. But the numbers do not – and CAN NOT – exist in a vacuum. We need to understand WHY they are the way they are. Only time will tell IF Leighton has truly improved.

But my short comment is this: Dude has the hot hand. Go with him. He’s been playing well. It will take a bloody miracle for this year’s edition to win the Cup anyway. Should we somehow get to the promised land, it may as well be him leading the way.

I think the most important thing you’re forgetting is the playoffs. Can Leighton be a good playoff goalie? Emery has experience in the playoffs which is why I would rather have him in the net for the postseason instead of Leighton.

I love how fans act like credit card companies toward goalies. Oh you were never in the playoffs before so you cant be in them now. Oh you have’nnt played enough games so you can’t stay on our team. All I know is consistantly this season Leighton has looked good so I’d ride and die with him at this point. Besides the price is right and if he does blow up in our faces there will be a couple of goalies avaible this summer.

Talking about with the Flyers but you knew that and besides its not what he’s done but what he’s doing and right now thats playing pretty good for the Flyers.