Reginald Joseph Leach CM OM (born April 23, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Detroit Red Wings between 1970 and 1983. He is best known for his time in Philadelphia, winning a Stanley Cup with the Flyers in 1975 and being a member of the LCB line.
| Reggie Leach CM OM | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Leach (left) in November 2018 | |||
| Born |
April 23, 1950 Riverton, Manitoba, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Boston Bruins California Golden Seals Philadelphia Flyers Detroit Red Wings | ||
| National team |
 Canada | ||
| NHL draft |
3rd overall, 1970 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 1970–1984 | ||
Playing career
editNicknamed "The Riverton Rifle" and "The Chief", Leach was drafted third overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. Leach scored his first NHL goal in Boston's 6-0 home win over St. Louis on January 31, 1971. He scored nine goals during his time with the Bruins.
Boston traded Leach, Rick Smith and Bob Stewart to California for Carol Vadnais and Don O'Donoghue on February 23, 1972. After playing three seasons in Oakland, the Golden Seals traded Leach to Philadelphia for Larry Wright, Al MacAdam and 1974 first rounder (Ron Chipperfield) on May 24, 1974. He contributed to the Philadelphia Flyers' Stanley Cup win in 1974-75. Leach finished his NHL career with a one-season stop with the Detroit Red Wings.
Leach's best season was the 1975–76 season with the Philadelphia Flyers, when he set career highs in goals (61), points (91), game-winning goals (11), and plus-minus with a 73 rating. Leach's 61 goals earned him the goal-scoring title for that season, as well as the current Flyers franchise record for most goals in a season.
Leach is perhaps best remembered for being one of only six players, the first Flyer, and, until 2024, the only non-goaltender to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs, as a member of the losing team in the Final. He followed Roger Crozier (Detroit Red Wings, in 1966) and Glenn Hall (St. Louis Blues, 1968) and preceded Ron Hextall (Philadelphia, 1987), Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 2003), and Connor McDavid (Edmonton, 2024). [1][2] He earned this distinction in 1976 while setting NHL records for most goals in a single post-season, with 19 in 16 games, surpassing the Montreal Canadiens' Newsy Lalonde's 1919 mark of 17 goals, and longest consecutive games goal-scoring streak in the playoffs at 10, bettering the seven set by another Canadien, Maurice Richard, as his team went on to be swept in the final by Montreal.[3] The latter record remains unrivaled, but the former was matched by the Edmonton Oilers' Jari Kurri in 1985, although Leach established it in two fewer games.[4] During that same playoff season, Leach recorded a five-goal game against the Boston Bruins, a record he shares today with Maurice Richard, Darryl Sittler, Mario Lemieux and Newsy Lalonde.[5] Also, his total of 80 goals for the season and playoffs together set a new NHL record, which stood until 1980-81 when Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders scored 85.[6]
Leach played 934 career NHL games, scoring 381 goals and 285 assists for 666 points. Reggie was also part of the Flyers' 35-game unbeaten streak in 1980, which is a record that still stands today, in addition to the Flyers' home game unbeaten streak of 22 games in the same year. Leach also played for Team Canada in the 1976 Canada Cup, helping to win the championship. He was also a member of the NHL All-Star teams in 1976 and 1980.
Coaching career
editIn late 2007, Leach joined the Manitoulin Islanders of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League as an associate coach. In the spring of 2008, it was announced that Leach would return to Manitoulin for the 2008–09 season as the full-time head coach and director of hockey operations.
Personal life
editLeach is of Ojibwe ethnicity, a member of Berens River First Nation in Manitoba. His son Jamie Leach played in the NHL for parts of five seasons, winning the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992. Reggie and his two children have all represented Canada: Leach with Team Canada in 1976; son Jamie in the World Juniors in 1989; and daughter Brandie in the world Lacrosse championships in Scotland in 1993.[7]
In 1985, Leach entered rehab for alcohol abuse. He has remained sober for over 30 years.[8]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1966–67 | Flin Flon Bombers | MJHL | 45 | 67 | 46 | 113 | 118 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 15 | ||
| 1966–67 | Flin Flon Bombers | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 11 | ||
| 1967–68 | Flin Flon Bombers | WCHL | 59 | 87 | 44 | 131 | 208 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 48 | ||
| 1968–69 | Flin Flon Bombers | WCHL | 22 | 36 | 10 | 46 | 49 | 18 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 0 | ||
| 1969–70 | Flin Flon Bombers | WCHL | 57 | 65 | 46 | 111 | 168 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 50 | ||
| 1970–71 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1970–71 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 41 | 24 | 18 | 42 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 56 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 17 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 76 | 23 | 12 | 35 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 78 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 45 | 33 | 78 | 63 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 1975–76 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 61 | 30 | 91 | 41 | 16 | 19 | 5 | 24 | 8 | ||
| 1976–77 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 77 | 32 | 14 | 46 | 23 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 72 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 1978–79 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 76 | 34 | 20 | 54 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 76 | 50 | 26 | 76 | 28 | 19 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 6 | ||
| 1980–81 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79 | 34 | 36 | 70 | 59 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1981–82 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 66 | 26 | 21 | 47 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 78 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Montana Magic | CHL | 76 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 934 | 381 | 285 | 666 | 387 | 94 | 47 | 22 | 69 | 22 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Canada | CC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||
Awards
edit- MJHL First All-Star Team (1967)
- Turnbull Cup MJHL Championship (1967)
- WCJHL First All-Star Team (1968)
- WCHL All-Star Team (1969 and 1970)
- WCHL Goal Scoring Leader (1968 and 1970)
- WCHL Scoring Champion (1970)
- WCHL Player of the Year (1970)
- Stanley Cup championship (1975)
- NHL Goal Scoring Leader (1976)
- NHL Second All-Star Team (1976)
- Conn Smythe Trophy (1976)
- Canada Cup championship (1976)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1976 and 1980)
- Inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1997
- Selected to Manitoba's All-Century Second All-Star Team
- Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
- Inducted into Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame (1992)
- Selected as the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, now the Indspire Awards, recipient in the sports category (2008)
- Member of the Order of Manitoba (2016)
- Member of the Order of Canada (2019)
- Honorary degree Doctor of Laws, Brock University (2019)[9]
Popular culture
editJohn K. Samson wrote and recorded a song about Leach, which was titled "Petition" on his 2010 EP Provincial Road 222 and retitled "www.ipetitions.com/petition/rivertonrifle/" on his 2012 album Provincial.[10] The song recites the text of Samson's own petition to have Leach inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame,[10] and was formally presented to the HHOF in 2013.[10]
Leach was the answer to a radio question in the TV series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In the fourth episode of the show's sixth season, Mac wins a radio prize after guessing Leach's name at the last second to the question, "Who holds the Philadelphia Flyers' franchise record for goals in a season?"
Leach is cited as inspirational example in Richard Wagamese's novel Indian Horse (2012) and the 2017 film adaptation directed by Stephen Campanelli.
References
edit- ^ nhl.com. "Conn Smythe Trophy". Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ BarDown Staff (28 July 2017). "5 players who won the Conn Smythe Trophy after losing in the SCF". BarDown. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Weekes, Don (27 October 2009). The Biggest Book of Hockey Trivia. Vancouver, BC, Canada: Greystone Books. p. 483. ISBN 9781926812038.
- ^ Schroeder, Declan (17 May 2018). "Scheifele Sniping His Way Toward Leach's Record". The Hockey Writers: Hockey News & Insights. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "HHOF Records and Rankings -- NHL Playoff Goals". 2010-12-03. Archived from the original on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ "Reggie Leach Stats". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ Friedman, Zach. "The Greatest Indigenous-Canadian Athletes Day 1: Reggie Leach". Radio Western. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ Panaccio, Tim (26 January 2014). "Reggie Leach using troubled past to inspire youth". CSNPhilly.com. Comcast. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ "'It makes my heart happy,' says Stanley Cup winner Reggie Leach while receiving honorary degree".
- ^ a b c "John K. Samson to Bring Petition to Hockey Hall of Fame". Exclaim!, February 21, 2013.
- Bibliography
- Leach, Reggie; Druzin, Randi (2015). The Riverton Rifle: Straight Shooting on Hockey and on Life. Vancouver, BC: Greystone Books. ISBN 9781771641371.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Reggie Leach's profile at Hockey Draft Central
- Reggie Leach’s biography at Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
- Reggie Leach's biography at Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame