1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 51 Reg Leach Hockey Card (Front)
1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 51 Reg Leach Hockey Card (Back)
1972-73 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
Card Notes
Reg scored 65 goals in his last year of junior hockey and was the captain and leading scorer for the Flin Flon Bombers. His size is a big asset for Reggie, who likes the going on the rough side. He broke into the NHL briefly with Boston, but was traded to the Seals last season.
Details
He may have scored 65 goals in his last year with the Flin Flon Bombers, 1969-70, but he scored an amazing 87 goals with the same club two years earlier. In 1969-70, his 65 goals and 111 points both led the WCHL. In 1967-68, he led the league in goal scoring by a 30 goal margin. Most of that was due to his set-up man, Bobby Clarke. Leach had 87 goals and Clarke had 117 assists. Combined, the two had 299 points and finished 1-2 in the league.
The third pick overall at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft by the Boston Bruins, only Gilbert Perreault and Dale Tallon were taken ahead of him. After parts of two seasons in the NHL with the Bruins, Reggie Leach was traded to the Golden Seals with Rick Smith and Bob Stewart for Don O’Donoghue and Carol Vadnais.
Of course, his career would take off after a May 24, 1974 trade sent him to the Philadelphia Flyers to be reunited with his Flin Flon teammate, Bobby Clarke. In his first year with the Flyers, he helped the team to their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
In 1975-76, the Flyers would reach the final again but the Montreal Canadiens proved too strong. Still, in a rarity, Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy from the losing side. His 19 goals in 16 playoff games said nothing less than MVP. In the regular season, he had scored 61 goals which remains a franchise single season record to this day.
Reg Leach played 934 regular season and 94 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1970-71 and 1982-83 with the Bruins, Golden Seals, Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. He is a member of both the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame but, somehow, has remained on the outside looking in at the Hockey Hall of Fame.