McKenzie Report: Michael Leighton put on Waivers
by Bob Wage on Dec 7, 2009 1:05 PM EST
85 comments
In a move that did not surprise many here at Canes Country, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Carolina Hurricanes placed Michael Leighton on waivers today. Apparently, the team didn't mind spending the extra money to keep the goalie with the better stats. Manny Legace leads the team with three wins and has been a real battler so far this season. When asked in a previous article, 76% of you voted to keep Legace in the fold.
Leighton's future is still up in the air as he could be picked up by another team, reassigned to Albany, loaned out to another franchise in need of goaltending, or kept.
Legace is slated to start the game in Pittsburgh tonight as well.
We will have the game day preview posted shortly.
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Not for long
I am pretty sure he will be claimed by my wife sometime this afternoon
not if my woman gets to him first… I’m sure he has plenty that are willing to console him
by JBK on Dec 7, 2009 6:54 PM EST up reply actions
I’d say no to Philly (Boucher is decent). On top of Toronto, Dallas, Calgary and the Rangers (who just sent down Valiquette and brought up their AHL guy, Chad Johnson) all have the biggest question marks, IMO. Thing is, is Leighton — who couldn’t win the job on the team with the NHL’s worst record — an upgrade for any of those teams?
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 1:18 PM EST up reply actions
I was thinking it would be for Toronto since the Monster is diagnosed with heart problems and Leighton may be an insurance policy. Anyway I hope he lands some place because I think he is a good #2, but I also think he needed more playing time to keep going.
by hotchipsnsalsa on Dec 7, 2009 1:28 PM EST up reply actions
i feel like if you had put the pic of him out of the crease from a couple days ago for that GA, or any one of the times he was way out of position during a shoot out, wed have less sadness in these comments….who knows..
The only thing worse than that picture would have been one of him tossing pucks to the little kids after warm-ups.
Stop it!!! I feel bad for Leighton and his family. He was a kid-friendly, all around nice guy. But when it comes to the game of hockey, I think they made the right decision keeping Manny.
Live & Learn
No, it’s the picture from the Caniac Carnival where he gave his stick to a little girl (who’s a friend of mine by the way, doubly painful),
SISU
by LTD on Dec 7, 2009 1:48 PM EST up reply actions
And I didn’t even post the one of the little girl’s expression as she stares as the stick as if it’s made of gold. He really is a class act.
Maybe his career has not gone as planned, but he has earned 1.2 million the past two years. He still gets paid this contract no matter where he ends up. So things could be worse.
He needs a chance to play so he can earn another contract for next year. Hard to do that siting on the bench here.
GM of CanesCountry.com
True, but IMO he wasn’t really given a chance to do that here for a variety of reasons. He’s now suffering the consequences of something that wasn’t entirely his doing.
I know he didn’t play a lot, but such is the life of a backup. IMO, he didn’t cut it when in there. Also, I’m sure Barrasso weighed in on whether he could shoulder the No. 1 when Cam went down.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:30 PM EST up reply actions
I’d argue that it’s hard to cut it when you hardly get anytime time to play. A spot start here and there makes it really hard to judge whether a goalie is any good, especially considering the way things have gone this season (i.e. the beyond poor team in front of him).
I know that your backup goalie needs to do well when called upon (and I don’t think he was atrocious at any point), but between signing Legace right away and his injury, it’s hard to say that he ever really had a full hand to play with.
They see these guys every day in practice, too. There was always a lack of confidence in Leighton, regardless of the coach, and I’m sure it wasn’t just “Cam’s got a hot hand.” Maybe he’s just not the type that’s cut out to be a backup. A guy like Hedberg plays the same whether it’s back-to-backs or four weeks btwn. starts.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 3:39 PM EST up reply actions
Fair enough. But it’s a vicious cycle when it comes to confidence. You can’t earn confidence unless you are given a real chance (both games and in practice). You won’t get a chance unless you have their confidence. I’m not blaming anyone specifically, just saying he got kind of a raw deal all the way around.
He is not gone yet. And the odds are no one will pick him up, i.e. see status of Yelle and Conboy.
by hotchipsnsalsa on Dec 7, 2009 2:05 PM EST up reply actions
I feel bad for Leights, but what can you do when you get a bad injury and then outplayed? Sorry Leights, we all loved ya for trying in each game.
So does this mean that Wardo is back? Who is number two here?
Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader
I don’t think Cam’s been officially activated off IR yet has he?
Leighton is still eligible to be in the lineup tonight, I think they have to wait for him to clear waivers before they can assign him to Albany, so you waive him today, and then assign him to Albany assuming he clears waivers and re-activate Cam before Wednesday night’s game (assuming Cam’s ready which it sounds like he is).
At least that’s how I think it’s supposed to work, someone please correct it I’m wrong.
SISU
by LTD on Dec 7, 2009 1:47 PM EST up reply actions
Perhaps that Corvo is smiling more than Ruutu?
Leighton sounds like a great guy, hate to see that his NHL career hasn’t gone the way he’d probably want it to.
Hopefully he will be picked up and given the opportunity to play! I suspect even if it’s at the AHL level he would rather be playing than bench warming most nights.
I hope things work out for him
At times he has flashes of brilliance, I can only home some team lets him start enough games in a row that he can find his stride and get over some of his occasional lapses in judgement.
Another bad decision made.
Leighton is far better than Manny. Not sure why Manny is so well like by everyone, I feel he has been awful. He has let in 3 or 4 plus goals a game.
Then again I’m not the coach, if I was we’d be in the playoffs this year. I’m hoping there are doing this because they know another team wants him to free up some money. Other than that its just stupid and goes along with everything else.
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
3+ goals a game is not just a function of Manny, but the D in front of him. I think most of us who like Manny more than Leighton are basing it on watching his play directly, and not the # of goals let through.
Thats the same excuse Cams fans use. So any time a goalie sucks he can just say “hey that D in front of me can’t do there job”. O.K. I get it now.
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
Whats to like??
- Goalie……………….. GPI .. GS. Min.. GAA… W.. L .. OT.. SO ..SA .GA .Sv% . G .A . PIM
34 Manny Legace…… 9 …..8 …525.. 3.20… 3 …4…. 2…. 0… 263.. 28 ..894.. 0 ..0 …0
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
Right...?
And since my point was that his stats are not necessarily indicative of how I think his play looks, I don’t see how that makes a difference…
A lot of things went wrong in the games Manny’s played so far besides goaltending (and the games Leighton’s played too for that matter), so those stats are shared by the team’s defensive breakdowns. Also, Manny was really loose his first few games, and he let through stuff that he now wouldn’t since he’s gotten back up to his NHL stride, so that will skew the stats as well.
Every one of Leighton’s stats is worse. You’re not making an argument (and there is an argument to be made both ways) that’s working.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:35 PM EST up reply actions
Leighton gave up at least three in every full game this season, too.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:32 PM EST up reply actions
Yea, but Leights was supposed to be our #1 and Manny #2 while Cam was out. Because Leights was injuried or sick didn’t get to prove himself AGAIN. IMO Leighton is the better goalie out of the two.
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
If Leighton was going to be the definitive No. 1, they: 1) would’ve just had Peters back him up; 2) not started Manny right after they signed him.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:35 PM EST up reply actions
They shouldn’t have picked Manny up in the first place. They just spent more money for nothing. We could’ve played Leights and just brought Peters up.
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
Legace is costing the same as what Peters would’ve cost. Both make $500K at the NHL level.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:39 PM EST up reply actions
You could argue, for sure, that Leighton getting sent to the AHL (if that happens) and still getting paid $600K is a waste of $$$. But Legace has gotten the teams wins when Leighton hasn’t.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:41 PM EST up reply actions
I would argue and say our offense picking up has won those games not the goaltending.
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
So when the goalie gives up goals, the goalie is the reason the team lost. When the team scores goals, the goalie has nothing to do with it.
Got it.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:46 PM EST up reply actions
It’s not being wasted … Peters is on a two-way deal and doesn’t make that much in the AHL ($60,000)
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:43 PM EST up reply actions
So if Peters was brought up and played x amount of games they would’ve had to pay him $500?
A TRUE CANIAC......YES I AM........
I believe that salary is paid on a per game basis, essentially.
so 500k/82 every game at the NHL level
It’s not by games, but by days. That’s why you see cap-strapped teams ship guys back and forth on off days.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:54 PM EST up reply actions
They make exactly the same in the NHL: prorated $500K.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:47 PM EST up reply actions
He’s also been around a lot longer and had a very good Detroit team playing in front of him for some of those.
I’m not saying it’s not the smarter decision to go with Manny, but I understand how people could argue otherwise.
I agree there’s an argument to be made for both.
by Cory Lavalette on Dec 7, 2009 2:44 PM EST up reply actions
Michael Leighton is 28 guys, this isn’t some young kid waiting to finally get his shot. This decision wasn’t going to be the most important one facing this franchise. Hopefully one of our young guys is taking over for Legace before too long (seasons, not weeks.)
Forslund was just on the Fan with DG, Roddy to be a healthy scratch tonight.
"He has all the virtues I dislike, and none of the vices I admire." -Sir Winston Churchill
I think it just goes to show that the org. just had something aginst the guy, or just zero confidence.
A
The Canes are like a box of expired chocolates......
Here's a bit of a stunner from October 08:
Funny to see how much perceptions change. This was 14 months ago. Only.
:
Game Preview Hurricanes at Penguins, Oct 23, 2008
Here was Bubba’s description of Laviolette’s impending goalie decision:
As I mentioned in a previous article, this could be a tough call for the head coach. Do you ride the hot goalie, or do you return to your number one and give him some confidence? If you go strictly by the stats so far this year, it’s a no-brainer.
Leighton – record 2-0-0 – GAA 1.92 – SV% .935
Ward – record 1-1-1 – GAA 3.30 – SV% .891
Note exactly who was considered the hot goalie (Leighton) and who needed confidence (Ward). Bubba called it a no-brainer. Only 14 months ago, Leighton was the Canes’ go-to guy in goal.
And Patrick Eaves played top line wing with Staal and Samsonov too. Just too weird.
Here was question #1 from Bubba’s queries the day before:
1. Who will start in goal? Michael Leighton has certainly earned another start with his solid performance on Sunday night, but if Cam Ward is still officially the number one guy, do you go back to him so not to ruin his confidence this early in the season?
(My guess is that Leighton earned the start and will get the nod)
Hurricanes Hockey:
Never for the faint of heart.
Nor for the weak of stomach.
It’s the strangest thing of all to me about the NHL. Players can go from hero to zero in a nanosecond. Eaves is a great example. Coming out of college, he was the real deal. His father was a coach. He went to a hockey prep school. He was a first round draft choice. Somehow he went from a 20 goal scorer to a 2 to 8 goal scorer.
As for Leighton, he had moments of brilliance and then other less desirable moments. Maybe a change of scenery and a coach who thinks he hung the moon is all it will take. He has plenty of athletic ability and size. I think he is battling the mental side of being an NHL goalie.
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