Last Friday Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced that goaltender Michael Leighton will have back surgery. On a conference call, Leighton admitted that the disc in his back was herniated. Moreover, he admitted that he had soreness in his back during the Flyers Stanley Cup run. Holmgren stated the Flyers knew none of this until the summer, after Leighton had signed a two-year contract worth $3.1 million.
That’s all the Philadelphia media needed to write an age-old fairy tale, complete with a distressed king, master villain, trusty sidekick and most of all, the white knight.
Paul Holmgren: Your king. Holmgren addressed the media, stating that the Flyers didn’t know that Leighton had a back issue before he signed his contract. They were unaware during negotiations. And now “it is what it is” and they’re not happy.
Michael Leighton: Your villain. He’s had a back issue all along and concealed it from the team. Asked for a chance to redeem himself, a chance to start, painted himself as the victim and tricked the Flyers into signing damaged goods.
Brian Boucher: The trusty sidekick. Always slated to be the back-up goalie. He continues his role as team-player and all around nice guy. He’s also very good at opening and closing doors.
Sergei Bobrovsky: And your white knight—the young goaltending phenom who looks poised to nab the starting role after a strong preseason and a decent showing in the season opener against the Penguins. If not for him, the Flyers season would be lost before it even started due to the evil doings of Michael Leighton.
With the stage set, most stories about the latest setback in a career-long tale of bad luck for Michael Leighton are negative, urging you to dislike him for being dishonest and tricking the Flyers into passing on other free agent goalies by signing him. In reading their articles, one would think the disc has been herniated all along, going all the way back to the playoffs. Back discomfort that occurs while stretching and herniated discs just go hand and hand. Because really, aside from Leighton, no other member of the team was fighting through undisclosed pain or discomfort—right?
Um, no.
Let’s be honest, you’re not playing postseason hockey if you’re not battling through some nagging discomfort. The stories of players finding a way to play through broken feet and toes, busted knees, separated shoulders, sports hernias, bad hips and concussions are well-documented. And I’m just talking about the Flyers 2010 Stanley Cup run.
Last week, Ian Laperriere came out in the media and openly admitted that he lied about the state of his concussion to management. Laperriere arrived at training camp and attempted to play. The Flyers had no idea he would be unavailable for the season and did not plan accordingly. The media hailed him as a fallen hero, stating how much the Flyers would miss him and his leadership. How they could understand what would drive a man to lie about his condition because he wanted to win so badly, he wanted to play that much. I felt that way, too. I still do.
This week, Leighton revealed he had soreness in his back during the playoffs, but was quick to say it didn’t affect him on the ice. Given how the Flyers quest for the Stanley Cup ended, and how much blame the media placed on Leighton (some of it rightly so), now was the perfect opportunity to cite an ailing back as an excuse. Instead, Leighton refused to name that as a reason for his poor play.
Leighton figured rest over the summer was all he needed and that things would be fine. After all, soreness in a back for any player is not unheard of, even more so for a 6’3” man who spends the majority of the game hunched over. When the issue reoccurred during the offseason, he called the Flyers and came in for treatment. Holmgren confirmed that Leighton had an MRI in July that showed no issues with his back, and that Leighton was told to work through it, exercise and that things would be fine. If the disc was herniated, or even bulging, might the MRI have revealed this? One would think. Even Holmgren admits that they don’t even know if the two injuries are related, that the herniated disc could be a new problem that started after the contract was signed.
Leighton said the pain reached a new level during the Flyers preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs—the game that Leighton departed with discomfort before the shoot out. The Flyers sent him for an MRI, which at first was negative, then a bulging disc, and finally a herniated disc that requires surgery. I won’t even get into how ridiculous that chain of events sounds—the end result is the same.
But really, what does it matter what was said on that conference call and the day after. Michael Leighton made the mistake of admitting that like everyone else during the playoffs, he was playing through discomfort. And Holmgren was quick to say the Flyers had no idea when they signed Leighton to a new contract, even though Leighton passed an end of season physical. No one has even said if Leighton still had pain in his back by the end of June. And Holmgren says Leighton did not have a severely injured back when he resigned him and that "to dig any deeper is ridiculous." That doesn’t matter. Enough was said to paint a picture of deceit, the Flyers as victims and pave the way for Bobrovsky the hero.
Now that’s not a knock on Bobrovsky. The young goaltender shows a lot of promise and I hope as the season progresses, he turns out to be the real deal. He’s played well and he deserves his chance. Had he beaten a healthy Leighton for the starting role out of camp, then it would’ve been fine. Competition is a good thing and hopefully drives superior play from all involved. But the majority of our local media have already anointed him as the chosen one, the next franchise goalie. And as they do it, they are quick to remind us of Leighton the villain.
So what becomes of Michael Leighton? For starters, he’ll have surgery tomorrow. The very same surgery that Ryan Parent had last season (though many would argue that the surgery didn’t do much for Parent’s play when he was recovered). At least six to eight weeks of recovery and re-strengthening will follow, at which point, who knows. By then, the Flyers will have found out if Bobrovsky is for real. Brian Boucher will have established whether he is a solid back up, or sometimes starter. Would there even be room for Leighton?
At this point, whether there is room for Leighton seems to be the least of his problems. After our local media has finished dragging his name through mud, will he ever be able to regain the support, however shaky it was before, of a fan base that’s already been swept off its feet by the white knight?
I’m not sure how many fairy tales you’ve read, but I don’t remember too many where the villain lives happily ever after. And though he doesn’t deserve the title, Michael Leighton is the media’s villain.
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