Reggie Leach

Reggie Leach
Date of birth	April 23, 1950
place of birth	Riverton , Manitoba , Canada
Nickname	The Riverton Rifle, The Chief
size	183 cm
Weight	82 kg
position	Right wing
Shot hand	Right
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft	1970 , 1st round, 3rd position Boston Bruins
Career stations
1966-1970	Flin Flon Bombers
1970-1972	Boston Bruins
1972-1974	California Golden Seals
1974-1982	Philadelphia Flyers
1982-1983	Detroit Red Wings
1983-1984	Montana Magic

Reginald Joseph "Reggie" Leach (born April 23, 1950 in Riverton , Manitoba ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player (right winger), who from 1970 to 1983 for the Boston Bruins , California Golden Seals , Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings in National Hockey League played.

Career

During his junior years he played for the Flin Flon Bombers in the WCJHL with Bobby Clarke . He was twice the top scorer in the junior league. This was reason enough for the Boston Bruins to select him in the first round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft as third overall.

He was initially used with the Oklahoma City Blazers in the Central Hockey League , but made his NHL debut in the 1970/71 season with the Bruins, who were then one of the top teams in the NHL . Since the Bruins were better staffed in attack than in defense, they brought in Carol Vadnais and sent Leach to the California Golden Seals with Rick Smith and Bob Stewart .

With the Seals he managed to score over 20 goals in two consecutive years. For the 1974/75 season he switched to the reigning Stanley Cup winner, the Philadelphia Flyers, in exchange for Al MacAdam . In a series with Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber , he scored 45 goals and was also able to play his part in defending his title. Also in the playoffs 1975/76 he reached the final series with the Flyers. Even if his team lost to the Montréal Canadiens , he was the outstanding player of the finals. With 19 goals he set a record that is still valid today and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy . A rare success for a player from the losing team. In the regular season he had set a personal best with 61 goals.

He was part of the Canadian national team for the 1976 Canada Cup . With the Flyers he increasingly took on defensive tasks, but he met 50 times in the 1979/80 season . He reached the finals of the Stanley Cup again, but lost to the New York Islanders there .

For the 1982/83 season he moved to the Detroit Red Wings , where he ended his NHL career after one season.

He played in the CHL for another year before retiring. His son Jamie Leach played 81 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins , Hartford Whalers and Florida Panthers from 1989 to 1994 .

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	13	934	381	285	666	387
Playoff	8th	94	47	22nd	69	22nd

Sporting successes

• Stanley Cup : 1975

Personal awards

• WCJHL First All-Star Team: 1968, 1969 and 1970
• WCJHL Player of the Year: 1970
• Brownridge Trophy : 1970
• NHL Second All-Star Team : 1976
• Conn Smythe Trophy : 1976
• Best NHL goalscorer: 1976 (later the Maurice Richard Trophy was awarded for this)
• MVP in the NHL All-Star Game: 1980
• Participation in the NHL All-Star Game : 1976 and 1980

Records

• 19 goals in a playoff season ( NHL 1975/76 ) together with Jari Kurri
• 5 goals in a playoff game (6 May 1976 Flyers-Bruins 6-3) together with Newsy Lalonde , Maurice Richard , Darryl Sittler and Mario Lemieux
• 10 playoff games in a row with at least one goal (April 17 to May 9, 1976)

Franchise Records

• 61 goals in one season for the Philadelphia Flyers ( NHL 1975/76 )

Web links

• Reggie Leach at hockeydb.com (English)
• Reggie Leach at legendsofhockey.net (English)