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Michael Leighton

#32 · Goalie · Carolina Hurricanes

Born May 19, 1981 in Petrolia, Ontario, CAN · 6'3", 186 lb · Catches left · Drafted 165th overall in 1999 by CHI (round 6)

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2016-17. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Marek Mazanec NSH · 4 GP, 0.839 Richard Bachman VAN · 5 GP, 0.920 Justin Peters ARI · 3 GP, 0.900 Spencer Martin COL · 3 GP, 0.865 Andrew Hammond OTT · 6 GP, 0.837

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

01020302002-03: 8 games802-032003-04: 34 games3403-042006-07: 5 games506-072007-08: 3 games307-082008-09: 19 games1908-092009-10: 34 games3409-102010-11: 1 games110-112012-13: 1 games112-132015-16: 1 games115-162016-17: 4 games416-17

Games played by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP WLTOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save % Cap hit
2002-03 CHI 8 23201 241 220 21 2.82 0.913
2003-04 CHI 34 618802 987 888 99 2.99 0.900
2006-07 NSH 1 00000 10 8 2 6.07 0.800 $450K
2006-07 PHI 4 22000 102 90 12 3.70 0.882
2007-08 CAR 3 11000 68 61 7 2.66 0.897 $550K
2008-09 CAR 19 67020 507 457 50 2.92 0.901 $600K
2009-10 CAR 7 14000 164 139 25 4.28 0.848 $600K
2009-10 PHI 27 165021 735 675 60 2.48 0.918
2010-11 PHI 1 10000 36 32 4 4.01 0.889 $1.55M
2012-13 PHI 1 01000 26 21 5 5.07 0.808 $900K
2015-16 CHI 1 00000 17 16 1 1.52 0.941 $575K
2016-17 CAR 4 22000 92 80 12 3.42 0.870 $700K
10 seasons Career 110 37431044 2985 2687 298 2.98 0.900

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2009-10 PHI 14 8303 371 340 31 2.46 0.916
2010-11 PHI 2 0100 29 25 4 3.44 0.862
2 seasons Playoffs 16 8403 400 365 35 2.54 0.913

2016-17 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
4 3 2200 92 80 12 3.42 0.870

Contract

$700KCap hitends in 2017, then UFA

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2016-17, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2016-17 $700K

Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2016-17 to 2016-17 $700K
2015-16 to 2015-16 $575K
2012-13 to 2012-13 $900K
2010-11 to 2011-12 $1.55M
2008-09 to 2009-10 $600K
2007-08 to 2007-08 $550K
2006-07 to 2006-07 $450K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2016-17 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2016-17 analytics

Rating

-1.8Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
-0.3Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-2.8Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

The goals he saved for his team, compared with a spare-part goalie facing the same shots. A goalie's season is about one-third the goalie and two-thirds chance, so read one year lightly. He has played fewer than 20 games, too few to be ranked. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-3-2-1012010-112012-132015-162016-17Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

Shots faced

Expected goals adds up how likely each shot he faced was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. A goalie who lets in fewer than that has saved goals above expected. Only shots taken while he was in net count, and the league's goalies as a whole come out at zero. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones. What these numbers mean

-2.8Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
9.2Expected goals againstfrom 131 unblocked attempts
12Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.870Save %0.900 expected from his shots
Goals saved -0.79 above expected per 60 minutes1st
Shot difficulty 7.0% chance per attempt faced99thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 55 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

0510Allowed 12Expected 9.2

The goals he was expected to let in and the goals he did, as the season went on. When the allowed line runs below the expected line, he is saving more than his shots were worth.

Where he was shot at

Every unblocked attempt he faced this season, with his net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
Jan 21, 2017 @ CBJ L 2-3 L 20 17 3 0.850 57:18
Dec 13, 2016 vs VAN W 8-6 W 16 13 3 0.813 34:36
Dec 3, 2016 @ NYR L 2-4 L 23 19 4 0.826 58:23
Nov 27, 2016 vs FLA W 3-2 W 33 31 2 0.939 60:00