Leslie John Binkley (born June 6, 1934) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

and in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) for the

Ottawa Nationals The Ottawa Nationals were a professional men's ice hockey team out of Ottawa that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) during the 1972–73 WHA season. The WHA had originally granted a franchise to Doug Michel for "Ontario." Original p ...

and

Toronto Toros The Toronto Toros were an ice hockey team based in Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976. History The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 for $25,000 to play in the WHA's inaugural 1972–73 season. Haro ...

between 1967 and 1976. He later served as a scout for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets.

Career

Les Binkley spent his early career in the minor leagues and did not play in the NHL until his thirties. After spending the 1960–61 season as the trainer and emergency goalie for the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL), he won the

Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award The Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award is given each year to the player in the American Hockey League determined to be the most outstanding rookie. The award is based on voting by the media and the players. It was named after Dudley "Red" Garrett ...

as the AHL's top rookie in 1962, and was awarded the

Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award The Hap Holmes Memorial Award is an ice hockey trophy awarded annually to the goaltenders of the American Hockey League team with the lowest goals against average, and who have appeared in at least 25 regular season games. Prior to 1972 awarded to ...

four years later for allowing the fewest goals in the league. Binkley was the starting goaltender for the

in the team's inaugural season in the NHL. During the 1970 Stanley Cup playoffs, Binkley won six games--the first postseason victories for the Penguin franchise. After five seasons with the Penguins, he played in the WHA with the

and

. Binkley played in 196 NHL regular season games and retired with a career GAA of 3.12. He won two

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

championships in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

as a scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Personal life

Binkley currently resides in Walkerton, Ontario. His wife Eleanor passed away in September 2021. He has two children, Randall and Leslie, and five grandchildren, Jana, Jonathan, Curtis, Kara and Jordan. Curtis Binkley is also a goaltender, and was drafted by the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marlb ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

in 2002.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Achievements and awards

*EHL Second All-Star Team (1957) *

(Rookie of the Year - AHL) (1962) *AHL Second All-Star Team (1964, 1966) *

(fewest goals against - AHL) (1966) *WHL Second All-Star Team (1967) *Two

championships as a scout for the

(1991 and 1992) *First NHL goaltender to wear contact lenses (1967) *First player signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins club in its first NHL season

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Binkley, Les 1934 births Living people Baltimore Clippers (1954–56) players Buffalo Norsemen players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Charlotte Clippers players Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Fort Wayne Komets players Galt Black Hawks players Ice hockey people from Ontario Kitchener Greenshirts players New York Rangers scouts Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Ottawa Nationals players Sportspeople from Owen Sound Pittsburgh Penguins players Pittsburgh Penguins scouts San Diego Gulls (WHL) players Stanley Cup champions Toledo Mercurys players Toronto Toros players Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) coaches Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) scouts