Gary Leeman
Gary Spencer Leeman (born February 19, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the NHL. He is best known for being the second Toronto Maple Leaf player ever to score 50 goals or more in a single NHL season (Rick Vaive being the first in 1981-82).
| Gary Leeman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
February 19, 1964 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Toronto Maple Leafs Calgary Flames Montreal Canadiens Vancouver Canucks St. Louis Blues | ||
| NHL Draft |
24th overall, 1982 Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| Playing career | 1983–1999 | ||
Playing career
As a youth, Leeman played in the 1977 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Wexford, Toronto.[1]
Leeman played for the Notre Dame Hounds Junior A team in Wilcox, Saskatchewan and was a standout defenceman for two seasons with the WHL's Regina Pats, where he was voted the league's Top Defenceman and a First Team All-Star.
Leeman was drafted 24th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft as a defenceman, and returned to junior for a season, where he scored 86 points in 63 games.
He also represented Canada at the World Junior Championships twice, in Leningrad and in Sweden.
Leeman converted to a winger in the NHL.[2] He was best known as a speedy, gritty scoring machine and had a 50-goal season to his credit for the Maple Leafs. He formed the "Hound Line" along with Wendel Clark and Russ Courtnall while helping the Leafs come within a game of the semi-finals. Starting in 1986–87, Leeman was a top goal scorer with Toronto and had four straight 20 goal seasons.
After nearly nine seasons in Toronto, Leeman needed a change of scenery and was the key player sent to the Calgary Flames in the January 2, 1992 blockbuster trade that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto. To date, the ten-player deal is the largest in NHL history and, looking back, is seen as lopsided in favour of Toronto.[3][4]
As well as the Leafs and Flames, Leeman also played for the Montreal Canadiens (was traded on January 28, 1993 from the Flames to the Canadiens in exchange for Brian Skrudland), Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues. He won a Stanley Cup in Montreal in 1993. He played 667 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 199 goals and 267 assists for 466 points.
Leeman finished his career in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga for the Hannover Scorpions. He retired in 1999.
Awards and achievements
- 1993 — Stanley Cup championship (Montreal)
- 1989 — Played in NHL All Star Game (Toronto)
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1981–82 | Regina Pats | WHL | 72 | 19 | 41 | 60 | 112 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1982–83 | Regina Pats | WHL | 63 | 24 | 62 | 86 | 88 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1982–83 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1983–84 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 52 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | St. Catharines Saints | AHL | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 53 | 5 | 26 | 31 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | St. Catharines Saints | AHL | 25 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 53 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 21 | 31 | 52 | 66 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 1987–88 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 30 | 31 | 61 | 62 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1988–89 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 61 | 32 | 43 | 75 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 51 | 44 | 95 | 63 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 | ||
| 1990–91 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 52 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 34 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 29 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 30 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 20 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Fredericton Canadiens | AHL | 23 | 18 | 8 | 26 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 31 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | HC Gherdëina | ITA | 20 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 59 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 1996–97 | Utah Grizzlies | IHL | 15 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1996–97 | Worcester IceCats | AHL | 24 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Hannover Scorpions | DEL | 36 | 11 | 34 | 45 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1998–99 | EHC Biel-Bienne | CHE II | 8 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | HC Sierre | CHE II | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Hannover Scorpions | DEL | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | ||
| NHL totals | 667 | 199 | 267 | 466 | 531 | 36 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 36 | ||||
References
- "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
- Associated Press (January 3, 1992). "Flames, Toronto swap 10 players". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- Wilson, Kent (February 8, 2011). "WORST TRADES IN FLAMES HISTORY". Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- Selley, Chris (April 4, 2008). "On second thought..." Maclean's. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database