 On September 7, 2016, Leighton signed a one-year, two-way contract with another former club, the Carolina Hurricanes.On July 1, 2017, Leighton left the Hurricanes to sign a one-year, two-way free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.He was re-assigned to begin the 2017–18 season with Tampa Bay's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.