The Philadelphia Flyers made a huge run this past NHL season vs. the sports betting odds and one of the reasons why was goaltender Michael Leighton. The Flyers have re-signed Leighton as they hope to improve upon their runner-up sports betting online finish next season.
Sportsbetting odds didn’t favor the Flyers as much as you might think last season. The Flyers were actually a big surprise and they didn’t experience their most success until the playoffs began. Leighton was not even considered a top goalie in the NHL before the playoffs started. It is amazing what one good playoff run will do for a team and a player. Leighton was signed to a two-year deal worth $3.1 million dollars. He is set to earn $1.5 million next season and $1.6 million the following season.
Leighton salary goes up from the $600,000 he earned this past season. This past season he led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals but the team lost in six games to Chicago. The Flyers are also bringing back goaltender Brian Boucher who was in net for some of the Flyers playoff games as well.
The Flyers are really going the cheap route when it comes to goaltending. Leighton and Boucher are not considered top notch goaltenders but high priced goalies like Ryan Miller and Roberto Luongo have done nothing so perhaps the cheaper way is better.
The Flyers were just 41-35-3-3 last season vs. the sportsbetting NHL odds. They were decent at home but they had a losing record on the road. Leighton led the team in goals against average at 2.48 but it was Ray Emery who actually had more wins. The Flyers were solid on offense as they ranked 8th in the league in goals per game. A big key for Philly was their special teams as they were third in the league on the power play and second in penalty killing. Defense was a problem for Philadelphia during the regular season as they were just 15th in the league in goals against. If not for their special teams they would have really had even more problems. And it should be noted that the Flyers just barely made the playoffs last season and repeating that success next season without some changes is unlikely.