Reggie Leach

Reginald Joseph Leach

• Born: April 23, 1950 in Riverton, Manitoba
• Hometown: Riverton, Manitoba
• Position: Right Wing

Selected by Boston Bruins 1st round (#3) in 1970 NHL Amateur Draft

made junior debut with Flin Flon (MJHL) at 16 in 1966-67. ... played on a line with Bobby Clarke. ... scored 67 goals, a league record for right wingers. ... finished fourth in league scoring with 113 points in 45 games. ... led MJHL playoffs in points (30) and goals (18). ... named to MJHL First All-Star Team. ... won the first of three junior championships. ... in 1967-68, set WCJHL record with 87 goals. ... named to WCJHL First All-Star Team. ... missed most of 1968-69 season with separated shoulder. ... came back to lead WCHL playoffs with 13 goals. ... named to WCHL First All-Star Team for the second straight year. ... Flin Flon won the league championship. ... succeeded Clarke as team captain for 1969-70. ...

is a retired professional ice hockey winger who played in the NHL between 1970 and 1983. He is of First Nations ethnicity.

Playing career

Nicknamed "The Riverton Rifle", Leach was drafted third overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 934 career NHL games, scoring 381 goals and 285 assists for 666 points. His best season was the 1975–76 season, when he set career highs in goals (61), points (91), game-winning goals (11), and plus-minus with a +73 rating. Those 61 goals gave him the goal-scoring title (now the Richard Trophy) for the season.

He is best remembered as being one of very few players to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs from the losing team in the Stanley Cup finals, a distinction he achieved while playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, as they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in 1976. He is the only non-goaltender to win this award in a losing cause. Leach won the trophy after setting the NHL record for most goals in the playoffs (19), a record that stands to this day. During that same playoff season Leach recorded a five-goal game vs. the Boston Bruins, a record shared with Maurice Richard and Darryl Sittler. 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.

Coaching career

In 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.

Career Statistics

Playing

				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		8	12	11	23	4
		Memorial Cup		--	--	--	--	--		6	6	1	7	11
1967-68	Flin Flon Bombers	WCJHL		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	Oklahoma City Blazers	CHL		41	24	18	42	32		--	--	--	--	--
	Boston Bruins	NHL		23	2	4	6	0		3	0	0	0	0
1971-72	Boston Bruins	NHL		56	7	13	20	12		--	--	--	--	--
	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	Team Canada	Canada Cup		6	1	1	2	4		--	--	--	--	--
	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

Coaching

					Regular Season							Playoffs
Season	Team	League	Type		GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	Finish		GP	W	L	Results
2007-08	Manitoulin Islanders	NOJHL	Associate		Statistics Unavailable					6th		5	1	4	Lost Qtr Final
2008-09	Manitoulin Islanders	NOJHL	Head		50	7	40	3	17	4th West		4	0	4	Lost Div Semi
2009-10	Manitoulin Islanders	NOJHL	Head		50	4	45	1	9	4th West		4	0	4	Lost Div Semi
2010-11	Manitoulin Islanders	NOJHL	Head		50	4	46	0	8	4th West		4	0	4	Lost Div Semi

Career Moves

• Traded by Boston to California with Rick Smith and Bob Stewart for Carol Vadnais and Don O'Donoghue, February 23, 1972.
• Traded by California to Philadelphia for Larry Wright, Al MacAdam and Philadelphia's 1st round choice (Ron Chipperfield) in 1974 Amateur Draft, May 24, 1974.
• Signed as a free agent by Detroit, August 25, 1982.

Awards & Achievements

• Manitoba Junior Hockey League Record Most Goals--Right Winger 67 (1967)
• Manitoba Junior Hockey League First All-Star Team (1967)
• Turnbull Cup Manitoba Junior Hockey League Championship (1967)
• Western Canada Junior Hockey League Goal Scoring Leader (1968), setting League Record of 87
• Western Canada Hockey League First All-Star Team (1968, 1969, & 1970)
• President's Cup Western Canada Hockey League Championship (1969 & 1970)
• Western Canada Hockey League Goal Scoring Leader (1970)
• Brownridge Trophy Western Canada Hockey League Scoring Champion (1970)
• Western Canada Hockey League MVP (1970)
• Stanley Cup National Hockey League Championship (1975)
• National Hockey League Goal Scoring Leader (1976)
• National Hockey League Second All-Star Team (1976)
• Conn Smythe Trophy National Hockey League Playoff MVP (1976)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1976 & 1980)
• Played in the Canada Cup Tournament for Canada (1976)
• 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

External links

Reggie Leach's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database