Pre-Draft Highlights

Made MJHL debut with Flin Flon at 16 in 1966-67, scoring 67 goals and 113 points in 45 games. ...  Led MJHL playoffs in points (30) and goals (18) with Flin Flon in 1967. ... Scored six goals in six Memorial Cup games for Flin Flon in 1967. ... Named to MJHL All-Star First Team with Flin Flon in 1966-67. ... Led WCJHL with 87 goals for Flin Flon in 1967-68. The 87 were WCHL record that stood until broken by Ron Chipperfield in 1973-74. ... Named to WCJHL All-Star First Team with Flin Flon in 1967-68. ... Led WCHL playoffs with 13 goals on line with Bobby Clarke for Flin Flon in 1969. ... Named to WCHL All-Star First Team with Flin Flon in 1968-69. ... Flin Flon team captain for 1969-70 season. ... Won WCHL Brownridge Trophy as the league's top scorer with 111 points for Flin Flon in 1969-70. ... Led WCHL with 65 goals with Flin Flon in 1969-70. ... Led WCHL playoffs with 16 goals for Flin Flon in 1970.  ... Won WCHL MVP Award in 1969-70. ... Named to WCHL All-Star First Team with Flin Flon in 1969-70.

Career Vitals

Career NHL Statistics

Teams: Boston, California, Philadelphia, Detroit
Years: 1971-1983. Playoffs: 1971-1981

NHL Awards and Honors

Team Awards and Honors

Milestones

League/Team Records

Transaction History

Feb. 23, 1972 -- Traded by Boston with Rick Smith and Bob Stewart to California in exchange for Carol Vadnais and Don O'Donoghue. May 24, 1974 -- Traded by California to Philadelphia with future considerations (NHL rights to Ron Chipperfield on Dec. 11, 1974) in exchange for Larry Wright, Al MacAdam, and future considerations (George Pesut on Dec. 11, 1974). March 24, 1982 -- Released by Philadelphia. Aug. 25, 1982 -- Signed with Detroit as an unrestricted free agent. June 15, 1983 -- Bought out and released by Detroit. October 1983 -- Signed with Montana (CHL) as an unrestricted free agent.

Life Outside the NHL

Full Name: Reginald Joseph Leach
Also Known as: Reg Leach
Nicknames: "The Rifle", "Rifle", "The Riverton Rifle", "The Chief"

Other Post-Draft Teams: Oklahoma City (CHL); Montana (CHL); Madison (UHL)

Coaching Career: Named Manitoulin (NOJHL) associate coach during 2007-08 season. ... Named Manitoulin head coach and director of hockey operations prior to 2008-09 season and remained in that position through 2010-11 season, the team's final season before relocating to Kirkland Lake.

Career Beyond Hockey: Worked in automobile sales and insurance industries and eventually opened his own landscaping company before devoting himself full-time to coaching, community work, and his "Shoot to Score" project to bring hockey schools to more First Nations communities.
• Leach on LinkedIn

Family: Father of former NHL player and Tier II coach Jamie Leach.

First Nations Star Gives Back

Leach, part Cree (Ojibwe) and a member of the Berens River First Nation in Manitoba, was an inspirational figure for aspiring Native hockey players of the 1970s. He has given a great deal back to the community in his continuing work work for First Nations of Canada and appeared in the documentary film "They Call Me Chief" about the experience of Native players in the NHL. Leach has been very open and candid about his own struggles with alcoholism during his playing days and frequently lectures young people about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Sober since he entered rehab in 1985, Leach talks openly about how his drinking affected his family and his finances, leading him into bankruptcy. He gives these talks to help young people, mostly in the First Nations community, think about their futures. "I am more proud of what I do today than my hockey career," Leach told CSNPhilly.com in January 2014. "That was a stepping stone of getting me where I am now."  As of the 2014 interview, Leach had spoken to more than 200 First Nations communities about his experiences. In 2007, Leach and his son, Jamie, also founded a program/company called Shoot to Score Hockey, which enables First Nations and other youngsters in remote parts of Canada to take part in professionally-run hockey schools. Inspired by Leach's performance as a player and his ability to overcome factors such as racism and alcoholism, Canadian songwriter John K. Samson of Winnipeg has led an online campaign to get Leach inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Career Highlights

Played 56 games for 1971-72 Boston team that went on to win Stanley Cup, but was not with it for playoffs since he had been traded. ... Led California with four game-winning goals in 1972-73. ... Led Philadelphia with 15.6 scoring percentage in 1974-75. .... Became second player in Philadelphia Flyers history to score 50 goals in a season when he got No. 50 on March 14, 1976, vs. Atlanta. ... Became the first and only Philadelphia player to score 60 goals in a season when he scored No. 60 in April 1, 1976, game at vs. Washington. He also became only the second player in NHL history to reach 60-goal mark, joining Phil Esposito. ... Played on Philadelphia team that lost to Montreal in 1976 Stanley Cup Finals. ... Set NHL and Flyers records (since broken) for goals in a playoff series with nine vs. Boston in 1976. ... Set NHL record (since tied by Jari Kurri in a playoff run that was three games longer than Leach's) for goals in one playoff year with 19 goals during the Flyers' 1976 playoff run. ... Set NHL record (since broken) for combined regular-season and playoff goals with 80 total goals in the 1975-76 season and playoffs. His record stood for five years. ... Led Philadelphia with nine first-goals and four game-tying goals in 1976-77. ... Led Philadelphia with nine power-play goals in 1977-78. ... Led Philadelphia in power-play goals (13) and game-winning goals (6) in 1978-79. ... Played on Philadelphia team that set NHL record with 35-game unbeaten streak from Oct. 14, 1979, to Jan. 6, 1980. ... Named MVP of NHL All-Star Game at Detroit on Feb. 5, 1980, even though his Campbell team lost. He scored the team's first goal at 7:15 of opening period to cut lead to 2-1 and later assisted on a goal by Brian Propp at 4:14 of the third for a 3-2 lead. ... Became 35th NHLer to reach 300 goals on March 11, 1980. ... Became first player in Philadelphia history to score 50 goals twice when he scored No. 50 for hat trick in April 3, 1980, game vs. Washington. .... Led Philadelphia with 328 shots and four shorthanded goals in 1979-80. ... Played on Philadelphia team that lost to N.Y. Islanders in 1980 Stanley Cup Finals. ... Led Philadelphia with 321 shots in 1980-81. ... Left Philadelphia in 1982 ranked fourth on the team's career goal-scoring list (306) and fifth in points (514). ... Inducted into the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame in 1992. ... Inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. ... Came out of retirement at 47 on Dec. 13, 1997, to play one shift for Madison (UHL) in game vs. Brantford. .. Named to Manitoba All-Century All-Star Second Team by Manitoba Hockey Foundation in 2000. ... Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. ... Received Canada's National Aboriginal Achievement Award from the Indspire Institute in 2008.

Leach's Dream Season

Reggie Leach had an outstanding NHL career by any measure, but his 1975-76 regular season and playoffs was one for the ages. Had he enjoyed even one more season like that year, he might well be in the Hockey Hall of Fame instead of one of the many strong candidates who has not earned the Hall induction because he did not sustain his highest levels of performance over a long period of time. In 1975-76, Leach set the NHL on fire with a Philadelphia Flyers team that was looking to win a third straight Stanley Cup. The Flyers came up short in that bid, losing to Montreal in the Finals, but along the way, Leach was pure dynamite. Playing on a line with future Hall of Famers Bobby Clarke, his junior teammate from Flin Flon, and Bill Barber, Leach led the league and set the Flyers record for goals in one season with 61. The trio, known as the "LCB Line" set what still stand as a Flyers records for goals (141) and points (322) by one line in a single season. He then turned it up a notch in the playoffs with an NHL-record 19 goals -- a record that has since been tied but never broken. Included in that run was a five-goal game on May 6, 1979, vs. Boston, making him only the fourth NHL player to score five in a postseason game. His five goals fueled a 6-3 victory in Game 5 that put the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Leach scored his first goal at 5:45 of the opening period to make it 1-0. He scored again at 2:16 of the second for a 2-1 lead, at 8:51 of the second to go up 3-1, and then completed a natural hat trick with a goal at 17:09 of the second period for a 4-1 lead. He picked up his final goal at 8:07 of the third period, making it 5-2. All five goals came against Boston netminder Gilles Gilbert. The five goals also capped off an NHL record 10-game playoff goal-scoring streak that has stood ever since. During that streak, Leach scored a total of 15 goals, one of which was a goal at 13:38 of overtime to beat Boston on April 29, 1976. ... Although the Canadiens beat the Flyers for the Stanley Cup, Leach's heroics could not be ignored, and he was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP -- becoming only the third player, and the first non-goaltender, from a losing team to win the award . To date, he remains the only forward or defenseman to have won the Conn Smythe on a losing team. In addition, Leach set an NHL record for combined regular-season and playoff goals with 80. That record stood until Mike Bossy recorded 85 over the course of the 1980-81 regular season and playoffs.

Leach Exits Philadelphia

On March 24, 1982, Leach was cut from the Philadelphia Flyers amid disagreements with first-year head coach Bob McCammon about his role. Leach had reportedly been told by McCammon that the team no longer needed his services because it was going with younger players. The outright dismissal came one day after Leach showed up 20 minutes late for a practice and then said that it was hard for him to stay motivated to practice when he knew his future with the Flyers was so limited. Two weeks prior to the release, he had cleared waivers, giving the Flyers the right to release him, but the team had tried to trade him to Chicago prior to the middle of the month, when playoff rosters were set. At that time, Leach was given a choice related to the trade and asked that he be allowed to remain in Philadelphia rather than go to Chicago.

International Tournaments

Significant Injuries

Missed first game of NHL career due to injury with a charley horse during the 1976-77 season.

Miscellaneous:

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