Ville Leino

We figured there was no better day to released Leino’s page than on Halloween. The former black and orange Phildelphia Flyer signed a six year, 27M contract with Buffalo over the past summer.

He has scored a goal, but has been struggling with his new club thus far. Leino is coming off a breakout season with the Flyers, where he scored 53 points (19 G, 34 A) in 81 games played. The forward also scored the overtime winner in Game 6 of the 2010 playoffs, sending the series to a seventh game.

The year prior to that, in 2009-’10, Leino achieved the status of postseason superstar and tied a record to go with it. In 19 playoff games, Leino scored seven goals and 14 assists, which was tied for the most by a rookie.

He has set two NHL records with that playoff performance: one for most assists in the Stanley Cup playoffs and one for most points in the Stanley Cup finals by a rookie.

Leino went undrafted, but was signed by the Detroit Red Wings to a one year contract. He is the type of player that will work hard and make plays happen. A similar style to Matt Ellis, Leino can do the dirty work, and his mere presence, is a good thing to have on the team.

Although he has had a rough going early this season, Leino is locked up for the next few years and has a risky contract. It may just take some more time before he finds his comfort zone with the blue and gold.