Not that he was the center position but he acted like the center in the offensive zone. I watched the vid and this is what he said. "In Philly's system he was the guy down low in the Hartnell-Briere line. Ville strength is hanging on to puck and that fits our system with the D an joining the rush. Buys the extra seconds and has very good sideways movement. Gets in paint to score dirty goals."
Not really. Briere mostly played center. Maybe every now and then Leino would do that, but it wasn't anywhere close to being the norm. He was most noticeable on the wing dishing passes.
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hopefully that one playoff run was a fluke for Ville. Lindy should put him at center, they need one and he could pull it off, that is until someone jacks his bum hip.
Be honest here, did you guys see enough last season that would make you comfortable with him at center?? I hate the signing because I think he isn't an NHL caliber center. In the press conference Lindy was talking how on the Briere line in the offensive zone, he played like the center on that line. I don't know what to think. If he can play center and put in 60 points then it may turn into a good signing. If we are forced to move him back to wing then it is stupid. So, tell me the truth, did you guys see ANYTHING that made you think that he could control the center of the ice for the rest of his career?? Thanks.
Leino's been playing a lot of center in the D-zone because Briere is never the first man back. He did essentially what Hecht did for Briere when he was still in BUF. Leino was a center in Europe and was an MVP. It's a gutsy move. He's a clear upgrade over Connolly. It's what free agency is all about. You're a better team now than you were yesterday.
I think people will be surprised how well Leino will do in Buffalo under Ruff and the system they have. Leino is an extremely creative player and requires a system that allows him to freelance....Lavy wasn't that type of coach and hence why they butted heads. Buffalo is a good fit for Leino and he'll be productive for them and a thorn in our side when we play them. Bank on it....
Leino has always been a playoff guy. Before his Finnish MVP, he had MVP type playoffs, but people always wondered if his regular seasons could match up.
I really think when we look back that Leino will be an anomaly when it comes to evaluating PPG numbers between season and playoffs. As it stands right now, most people we think of as 'clutch' actually have extremely similar season/playoff performances in terms of PPG production.
Not that he was the center position but he acted like the center in the offensive zone. I watched the vid and this is what he said. "In Philly's system he was the guy down low in the Hartnell-Briere line. Ville strength is hanging on to puck and that fits our system with the D an joining the rush. Buys the extra seconds and has very good sideways movement. Gets in paint to score dirty goals."
He and Hartnell usually take duties in front of the net.
Q: At what point did you bow out on Leino and decide it was going to be too expensive?
“Well, just over the course of time [unintelligible] on a lot of these guys that we had down in terms of wingers. I don’t need to really mention any names, but you look at the guys that are signed, we felt all along that it was going to be higher than we really wanted to go. In terms of Ville, I spent a lot of time talking to Ville’s agent yesterday and quite a bit of time talking to him this morning. I think the sense for us was that Ville was going to get multiple opportunities to get a lot more than we were prepared to offer him. So I guess it went up to probably 11:45, when it got to that point, he was going to take a look. Bill Vito did make a call back to me and told me kind of where it was at some point later on. I think Ville had a lot of offers in that range, maybe even some higher than that. I think Ville was really good for us, and we wish him all the best. I’m happy for him.”
The more I watch his highlights, the more I see the potential Lindy was talking about. He likes to cut across the ice a lot and wait for team mate to set up for him to pass. Kinda like this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-KXrkVoIIA
He definitely likes to roam in front of the net and get the chip in's like the other poster linked to.
Not that he was the center position but he acted like the center in the offensive zone. I watched the vid and this is what he said. "In Philly's system he was the guy down low in the Hartnell-Briere line. Ville strength is hanging on to puck and that fits our system with the D an joining the rush. Buys the extra seconds and has very good sideways movement. Gets in paint to score dirty goals."
That line was strange because there really wasn't anyone playing center. Hartnell and Leino were taking a lot of the defensive responsibilities from Bričre however, I wouldn't exactly call Leino a stellar defensive player though. Congrats to him for his payday, but I believe you will regret this signing.
Taking the contract out of the equation for a minute, because I agree it's a bit steep ('tis the nature of free agency, though), what do Flyer fans think about his potential as a #2 center? Keep in mind Buffalo's probably going to be rolling 3 scoring lines next season, so we don't exactly need an offensive dynamo in Leino. I think we'd like him to be defensively responsible, able to create space in the neutral zone, and good on the forecheck. Do you think Leino could fit the bill? Or, at least, he's gotta be an upgrade over Connolly, right? (Connolly had roughly the same cap hit last year, too.)
Taking the contract out of the equation for a minute, because I agree it's a bit steep ('tis the nature of free agency, though), what do Flyer fans think about his potential as a #2 center? Keep in mind Buffalo's probably going to be rolling 3 scoring lines next season, so we don't exactly need an offensive dynamo in Leino. I think we'd like him to be defensively responsible, able to create space in the neutral zone, and good on the forecheck. Do you think Leino could fit the bill? Or, at least, he's gotta be an upgrade over Connolly, right? (Connolly had roughly the same cap hit last year, too.)
Well, can't tell you the last time he was a center. Never for this team, at least. I wouldn't even bother him about moving around. I can see him as a real primadonna with that kind of thing.
Well, can't tell you the last time he was a center. Never for this team, at least. I wouldn't even bother him about moving around. I can see him as a real primadonna with that kind of thing.
According to Leino himself, he played center till he was 23 and is more comfortable there.
It is going to be a very interesting season. I don't know how the Sabres can justify paying him what they did, especially cause it's pretty much based on his playoff run in 2010.
If Pegula was the owner, they would have re-signed him to a more reasonable contract before July 1. Actually, they probably would have extended him the year before instead of letting him go to arbitration.
