 After playing in just one game for the Flyers during the 2011–12 season, Leighton was traded at the NHL trade deadline to the Columbus Blue Jackets (along with a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft) in exchange for Steve Mason.Leighton served as Sergei Bobrovsky's backup for the remainder of the season, but did not see any ice-time.An unrestricted free agent the following the season, on August 19, 2013, Leighton signed a one-year contract with HC Donbass of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).