Rick Ley was one of the WHA's All-time top defensemen. He was an all-star in each of his seven seasons with the New England Whalers. The video clip has three Ley clips: 1972-73 Whalers highlite film, a goal vs. Quebec in 1979 and the infamous brawl with Valeri Kharmolov in the 1974 Summit series vs. the Soviet Union. MyHockeyTV.com
Rick Ley was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round (16th overall) in the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft. He played four seasons with the Maple Leafs (1968–69 to 1971–72) in the NHL before leaving to play with the New England Whalers of the WHA. He would remain with the Whalers' organisation in the WHA until that league folded in 1979.
Ley was one of the top 3-4 backliners in WHA history and "heart and soul" of the New England Whalers franchise.
The Whalers, along with three other teams from the WHA's remaining six, were absorbed into the NHL in 1979. Ley made the transition with the New England Whalers (who would become the Hartford Whalers) and finished his professional playing career in 1981.
Rick Ley spent six years as the Whalers' captain and is one of six players in Hartford Whalers' history to have his jersey number retired (#2), joining Gordie Howe and John McKenzie, Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson, and Kevin Dineen.
WHA career stats
- Regular season games played: 478
- Regular season goals: 35
- Regular season assists: 210
- Regular season points: 245
- Regular season penalty minutes: 716
- Playoff games played: 73
- Playoff goals: 7
- Playoff assists: 33
- Playoff points: 40
- Playoff penalty minutes: 142
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