Michael Leighton


It came as a shock to some people when the 29-year-old Ontario native Michael Leighton was waived on January 3. General Manager Paul Holmgren had previously stated in other interviews that he would have no problem carrying three goalies, at least in the short term. When news broke Leighton was on the waiver wire, there was some confusion.

Now that the Philadelphia Flyers have put goaltender Michael Leighton on waivers, it is a matter of time before he is picked up by another team.

Leighton is a journeymen and it looks like there is at least one more stop on his NHL trip.

After a fantastic playoff run, Leighton was the odd man out in a battle that saw fellow goalies Brain Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky start the season hot. 

Now that Leighton is healthy, he could be a valuable asset to a team.

Enjoy!

Wouldn’t you know, Michael Leighton finds himself in a familiar situation.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren placed the 29-year-old Leighton on waivers on Monday after not being able to find any takers via the trade market, according to the team’s twitter account.

February 28th will be here sooner than you think, and as it approaches, NHL teams will have one final chance to bolster their roster in an effort to carve their names into history at season's end. As teams jockey for playoff position, we take a look ahead at who's going to be on the move leading up to and including the deadline day.

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By this time last year, the Philadelphia Flyers were polar opposites of what they are now.

They are currently No. 1 in the league instead of struggling at the bottom of the standings.

The Flyers are experts at Peter Laviolette’s system instead of just getting to know it early on.

And they’ve got a logjam of great goalies, as opposed to a revolving door of mediocre and untested ones.

On Monday afternoon, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren told reporters on a conference call that goalie Michael Leighton is not ready to return to the Flyers after a six-day conditioning period with the Adirondack Phantoms.

Holmgren said that he filed for an extension for the conditioning assignment per the CBA, and a couple hours later, the NHL granted his request. Since the league approved the request, Leighton will return to the Phantoms for two more games.

Our collective memory has failed us and the present has clouded our judgment, Philadelphia.

So quick to turn our backs on one of our own. For shame!

Michael Leighton deserves the chance to be the No.1 goaltender in Philadelphia, no matter how excellent rookie netminder Sergei Bobrovsky plays.

Let me remind you of what Leighton went through to help us become the 2009-2010 Eastern Conference Champions and complete one of the three GREATEST comebacks in sports history!

It wouldn't be Philadelphia without good 'ole controversy, right?  Whether it's a quarterback controversy or a net-minding one, there's always a problem in Philadelphia.  Don't kid yourselves, folks: This situation with Michael Leighton and Sergei Bobrovsky, when it does come to light, will also cause a ruckus.

I'm never one to "buy into the hype" of a flashy newcomer.

I would much rather wait it out and see what a player can bring to a team on a regular basis before pulling myself up onto the bandwagon.

But 22-year-old Russian goaltending prospect Sergei Bobrovsky has been nothing short of stellar during this preseason for the Philadelphia Flyers. In five appearances, he has posted an eye-popping 1.76 GAA and a more impressive .939 save percentage.

In the last decade, Philadelphia Flyers fans had gotten painfully used to living in the shadow of their division rivals, the New Jersey Devils.  Not only did the Devils experience great success in the 2000s, beginning with a 3-1 series comeback against the Flyers in the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, but the team has consistently dominated Philadelphia year in and year out until 2009-10.