Born	April 23, 1950 (1950-04-23) (age 59), Riverton, MB, CAN
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Pro clubs	Boston Bruins California Golden Seals Philadelphia Flyers Detroit Red Wings
Ntl. team	Canada
NHL Draft	3rd overall, 1970 Boston Bruins
Pro career	1970 – 1984

Reginald Joseph Leach (born April 23, 1950 in Riverton, Manitoba, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey winger who played in the NHL between 1970 and 1983. He is of First Nations ethnicity.

[edit] Playing career

Nicknamed "The Riverton Rifle", Leach was drafted third overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 934 career NHL games, scoring 381 goals and 285 assists for 666 points. His best season was the 1975–76 season, when he set career highs in goals (61), points (91), game-winning goals (11), and plus-minus with a +73 rating. Those 61 goals gave him the goal-scoring title (now the Richard Trophy) for the season.

He is best remembered as being one of very few players to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs from the losing team in the Stanley Cup finals, a distinction he achieved while playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, as they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in 1976. He is the only non-goaltender to win this award in a losing cause. Leach won the trophy after setting the NHL record for most goals in the playoffs (19), a record that stands to this day. During that same playoff season Leach recorded a five-goal game vs. the Boston Bruins, a record shared with Maurice Richard and Darryl Sittler. Also, his total of 80 goals for the season and playoffs together set a new NHL record which stood until 1980-81 when Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders scored 85.

[edit] Coaching career

In late 2007, Leach joined the Manitoulin Islanders of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League as an associate coach. In the spring of 2008, it was announced that Leach would return to Manitoulin for the 2008–09 season as the full-time head coach and director of hockey operations.

[edit] Awards

• MJHL First All-Star Team (1967)
• Turnbull Cup MJHL Championship (1967)
• WCJHL First All-Star Team (1968, 1969, and 1970)
• WCJHL Goal Scoring Leader (1968 and 1970)
• WCJHL Scoring Champion (1970)
• WCJHL Player of the Year (1970)
• Stanley Cup championship (1975)
• NHL Goal Scoring Leader (1976)
• NHL Second All-Star Team (1976)
• Conn Smythe Trophy (1976)
• Played in the Canada Cup Tournament for Team Canada (1976)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1976 and 1980)
• Inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1997
• Selected to Manitoba's All-Century Second All-Star Team
• “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
• Inducted into Philadelphia Flyers (1992)

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] External links

• Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
• Reggie Leach's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Reggie Leach's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Reggie Leach’s biography at Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
• Reggie Leach's biography at Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame