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?
