Gary Leeman

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| image = Gary Leeman.jpg

| image_size = 230px

| caption = Leeman in 2008

| position = Right wing

| shoots = Right

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 11

| weight_lb = 175

| played_for = Toronto Maple Leafs
Calgary Flames
Montreal Canadiens
Vancouver Canucks
St. Louis Blues

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|2|19|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada

| draft = 24th overall

| draft_year = 1982

| draft_team = Toronto Maple Leafs

| career_start = 1983

| career_end = 1999

}}

Gary Spencer Leeman (born February 19, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the NHL. In 1990, he became the second Toronto Maple Leaf player ever to score 50 goals or more in a single NHL season, after Rick Vaive did it in 1981-82.

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|title=Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA|year=2018|website=Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament|access-date=2019-01-13|archive-date=2019-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306085544/https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Leeman played for the Notre Dame Hounds Midget AAA 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.{{cite news|title=Flames, Toronto swap 10 players|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kk1WAAAAIBAJ&pg=6869,396952&dq=gary-leeman+converted+to+a+winger&hl=en|access-date=12 August 2013|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|date=January 3, 1992|agency=Associated Press}} 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 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.{{cite web|last=Wilson|first=Kent|title=WORST TRADES IN FLAMES HISTORY|url=http://flamesnation.ca/2011/2/8/worst-trades-in-flames-history|access-date=12 August 2013|date=February 8, 2011}}{{cite web|last=Selley|first=Chris|title=On second thought...|url=http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20080404_125119_6064|work=Maclean's|access-date=12 August 2013|date=April 4, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523081340/http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20080404_125119_6064|archive-date=23 May 2013}}

On January 28, 1993, Leeman was traded from the Flames to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Brian Skrudland. He won a Stanley Cup in Montreal in that season. He later played for the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues. He played a total of 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

1983 — WHL First All-Star Team
1993 — Stanley Cup championship (Montreal)
1989 — Played in NHL All Star Game (Toronto)

Career statistics

=Regular season and playoffs=

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em;"
style="background:#e0e0e0;" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! colspan="5" \| Regular season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! colspan="5" \| Playoffs
style="background:#e0e0e0;" ! 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
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 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
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 1983–84	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	52	4	8	12	31	—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	St. Catharines Saints	AHL	7	2	2	4	11	—	—	—	—	—
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 1984–85	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	53	5	26	31	72	—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	St. Catharines Saints	AHL	25	15	13	28	6	—	—	—	—	—
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 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
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 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	—	—	—	—	—
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 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	—	—	—	—	—
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 1991–92	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	34	7	13	20	44	—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Calgary Flames	NHL	29	2	7	9	27	—	—	—	—	—
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 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
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 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
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 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
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 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	—	—	—	—	—
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 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
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 1998–99	EHC Biel-Bienne	CHE II	8	7	4	11	10	—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	HC Sierre	CHE II	1	2	1	3	0	—	—	—	—	—
style="background:#f0f0f0;" \| 1998–99	Hannover Scorpions	DEL	10	2	3	5	31	4	2	0	2	12
style="background:#e0e0e0;" ! colspan="3" \| NHL totals ! 667 ! 199 ! 267 ! 466 ! 531 ! 36 ! 8 ! 16 ! 24 ! 36