BUFFALO, N.Y.Former Flyers winger Ville Leino may have hit the wealth jackpot when he signed a big free-agent contract with Buffalo this summer, but early on his erratic play has been anything but prosperous for him and the Sabres, who host the Flyers Wednesday night.
Hopes were high when the 28-year-old signed a six-year, 27 million deal with the Sabres on the opening day of NHL free agency. But four months after the ink dried, Leinos offensive production has yet to surface.
After scoring in Buffalos first game of the season against Anaheim in his native Finland, Leino hasnt found the back of the net since, and has registered just a pair of points through the teams first 10 games.
Ordinary numbers from a player the Sabres expected extraordinary things from.
Theres a lot of things we can do better, and I can do better, Leino said following Mondays practice. Obviously youre a little bit worried or whatever, and youre not feeling as comfortable as you want to. You just have to work hard every day and get back at it. Once youve got the confidence and got your game going, its a whole different game.
Lacking depth in the middle, the Sabres envisioned Leino as a center as soon as they signed him, and he began the year in the pivot between wingers Brad Boyes and Tyler Ennis. The results were immediate, as Leino scored a first-period goal against the Ducks, and finished with what is still a season-high 16:59 of ice time.
"I think we have a lot of skill and a lot of good players," Leino said after the game. "It looks good so far."
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But things began going south for Leino when the team finished its European trip and headed back east. When he went after a loose puck hed be a step behind, and on the occasions he did reach the puck first, hed quickly turn it over.
After a few games he was shifted to the wing and down to the fourth line before moving back up to the second line with center Derek Roy and right wing Drew Stafford.
His short tenure in Buffalo hit rock bottom in the Sabres 3-2 loss to Florida on Saturday night when he was benched by coach Lindy Ruff for the majority of the game. He played 9 12 minutes, but just 5:07 over the final two periods.
The ice time was the second-lowest on the Sabres that night, trailing little-used tough-guy Cody McCormicks 7:02 TOI. Leino averaged more than 16 minutes last year with the Flyers.
I tried to go down to three lines to get things going, and to that point he didn't have too much going on," Ruff said. "Starting Wednesday, we'll just start fresh again.
On Monday, in an attempt to jump-start Leino, Ruff slid him back to center, but between red-hot top wingers Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek. Pominville and Vanek have combined for 13 goals and 29 points.
Villes going to be a big part of this team, Pominville said. Hes a talented player offensively. Obviously hes had a little bit of a tough go, but hopefully by adding him with me and Thomas well be able to help him out and get him going because we need him to get some points on the board.
Leino agreed that the shift to the top line may be just the tonic he needs to shake out of his playmaking doldrums.
Theyre really good players and theyre playing well right now, he said. They make a lot of plays and they are huge goal scorers. So those are the kind of players you want to be playing with.
Leino enjoyed plenty of success last year with the Flyers on a line with Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell. He finished with career highs in goals (19), assists (34), and points (53). His overtime tally in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals broke the Sabres backs, and helped the Flyers get to a deciding Game 7 in which they dismantled the Sabres, 5-2. Leino finished with three goals in the series.
Leinos plight is similar to the Sabres as a group. After a lightning-quick start in which it won four of its first five, Buffalo has cooled considerably. The Sabres will enter Wednesdays meeting with the Flyers having lost three of their last four, with two of those losses coming at home.
We werent working as hard as we should, we werent winning many battles, and we werent fast enough, Leino said. I dont know if were thinking too much or whatever, but the work ethic wasnt there. Its tough to win games when you do that.
I think that you can go five or six minutes and play really well, but weve done some things that have kind of shot ourselves and hurt ourselves, Ruff added following a grueling Monday morning practice. I dont think weve been the team we were that started the year. What weve done at home isnt good enough. That might have been one of toughest practices in couple years. I said the other night it wasnt acceptable, and if youre going to play like that well practice even harder.
The game against the Flyers could work in two completely different ways for the 6-4-0 Sabres. A win could help them shrug-off the early season-struggles, but a loss could send them into a deeper funk. For Leino, hes thinking about the former rather than the latter for both himself and his teammates.
Its going to be fun playing against the guys, Leino said about facing Briere the Flyers. Im a little bit nervous. Im sure its going to be a little bit different playing on the other side of the ice against them. Usually you want to show against your old team that youre a good player. Its going to give me a little extra boost.
E-mail Bob Matuszak at bobmat@airmail.net