The 2019 fourth-round draft pick acquired by the Penguins originally belonged to the Minnesota Wild.
Leighton, who is signed to a two-way contract worth $650,000 at the NHL level, will report to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the season.
Leighton, 36, has split this season between the Arizona Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning organizations, spending time at the AHL level with the Syracuse Crunch and Chicago Wolves. He has played in a combined 14 AHL games this year, going 4-4-4 with one shutout.
A native of Petrolia, Ontario, Leighton is a five-time AHL All-Star who broke into professional hockey with the Norfolk Admirals back in 2001-02. Since then, he has won 20 games at the AHL level six times. During the 2007-08 campaign, Leighton was named the AHL's Goaltender of the Year while playing for the Albany River Rats.
Leighton has played in 110 career NHL games with Chicago, Nashville, Philadelphia and Carolina. He played parts of three seasons with the Hurricanes from 2007-10 when Rutherford was Carolina's GM.
Leighton backstopped the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2010 Stanley Cup Final appearance, going 8-3 with three shutouts in the postseason. He was originally drafted by Chicago in the sixth round (165th overall) of the 1999 NHL Draft.
