Shutdown Pair

Tag: Ville Leino

  • Winning Weekend Fans The Goalie ‘Controversy’ Flames

    Buffalo played Jhonas Enroth in both back to back games this weekend, and won both by one goal.  It certainly won’t mute the vocal minority who are now thinking that maybe Enroth should be the one to get 50-60 games this year.  I don’t think that’s what is happening here, Ruff is giving Ryan Miller some time to clear that horrible Flyers game out of his head, get the work in at practice, and come back with a vengeance.

    As for the games, the one on Friday against the Flames was about as perfect a game as Buffalo could play.  They peppered Calgary’s backup goalie with shots, with Stafford and Gerbe scoring in the 2-1 win.  It was night and day from the difficult to watch team that couldn’t seem to buy a good scoring chance, when they weren’t too busy giving the puck away.  Last night’s game against the Senators was more even and not quite as dominant, but still showed a lot of positive signs.  Robyn Regehr was wrecking dudes, Boyes and Leino both played very solidly, and Nathan Gerbe was a stud on the Leopold goal.  Derek Roy scored the other Buffalo goal, and also had the decider in the shootout.  Vanek and Boyes both contributed in the shootout as well to keep Buffalo alive.  These two games really seem like what we were expecting from the start of the season, the right guys contributing…save for the goalie.  REALLY interested to see how Enroth gets used in the up coming week, with a Tuesday home game against Winnipeg, another Friday/Saturday combo with a rematch against Ottawa and a trip to Boston, then a Monday game in Montreal.  Is he back to one game on the weekend?  Two?  I think if Miller plays well against Winnipeg, assuming he goes in for that one, we are back to the ‘schedule’ for Jhonas.  But if he plays against the Jets…

  • Gameday 2011-2012 – Flyers at Sabres

    Hmm, so not only do we have former Flyer Ville Leino centering the first line, but Roy is at the point on the power play, with Gragnani out of the equation.  Might we get a Mike Weber sighting?  Lindy wouldn’t say, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise.  The Flyers come in without Danny Briere who is nursing sore ribs.  Sorry, boo-birds, your ownly chance to boo him will be when they announce the scratches.  Pronger is also out after nearly having his eye scooped out.

    I know that it’s the first meeting after the Flyers eliminated the Sabres from the playoffs, but I just don’t feel any great anger at them for it.  I mean, I always dislike the Flyers, and that didn’t increase it any.  Maybe it’s the hangover from the Pegula effect.  Leino will doubtless have some butterflies playing his old mates, perhaps moreso because it hasn’t gone that well here.

    It’s another 7:30pm start time tonight, and it’s on Versus, so plan accordingly.

  • Let’s Play Two

    The Sabres play the Lightning again tonight, at home this time after getting their hats handed to them by the same team on the road.  Tyler Ennis cut his hair and got hurt…coincidence?  I think not.  Anyway, it does leave Buffalo an interesting option – move Ville Leino to the wing and play Hecht at center.  You’d never have a better time, as the injury is the perfect excuse to try it out.  If Leino goes gangbusters back at the wing, you can leave him there as long as you like.  If not, he can go back in the middle.  It doesn’t mean he’s a ‘bust’ if he plays better on the wing, he might just need more than a couple of weeks to adjust and get his feet under him.  No big deal.

    It’s a 7:30 start time again (seems like we’ve had a bunch of those already).  Garon is apparently going to be in goal again, as the Lightning noticed Roloson hasn’t beaten the Sabres in 9 tries.  Still, Buffalo needs to solve the TBL defensive scheme and get some shots on net.  Garon is beatable, and Vanek has eaten these guys up in the past.  I think we’ll see some solid play tonight.

  • Ville, Don’t You Lose My Number

    (note:  I started writing this before yesterday’s game)

    Five games, and Ville Leino is already on the list of Darcy trade busts?  Man.  I know his contributions have been small so far – we all know that – but they’ve won 4 of 5.  Lindy’s already changing lines, I mean seriously, he LOVES that so of COURSE he has, and I’m betting Ville will be fine.  It’s easy to forget what Gerbe’s numbers looked like through the first half last year (that would be one goal before January).  He ended the season as one of the Sabres’ hottest forwards along with Stafford, and it’s continued this season.  It’s too early to give up on him, less than 1% of the way through his contract.

    edit:  And he gets on the scoresheet last night.  Go Ville!  I believe in you, and will be pulling for you to keep up the good work.

  • Winning Weekend

    I only got to see bits and pieces of the Sabres games in Europe, since I was at work for one of them, but you can’t ask for much more than what they did.  Two wins, including one after a terrible night of travel.  Contributions from Ehrhoff and Leino, Thomas Vanek doing his Atlas thing, Luke Adam making a case to stick with the big club long term.  Oh, and your new captain Jason Pominville leading by example with 4 points already.  The Sabres got a bit squirrelly in the 3rd periods, but Miller seems ready to take care of business in the Buffalo end, so you’ve got that too.  The next game can’t come soon enough, though I understand they need time after the trip so I will manage to wait until Friday.  😀

  • Sabres Win Pre-Season Opener

    It wasn’t pretty, but the Sabres got the win last night against the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1.  Gaustad and Gerbe scored in the third to take the lead and assisted on the other two goals, and Kaleta added an empty netter to seal it.  Brandon Sutter was your Canes goal scorer.  It definitely looked like a pre-season game for most of the first two periods, with Buffalo giving up chance after chance.  Jhonas Enroth (playing the second half) made some fantastic saves, and new guy Drew MacIntyre was solid.  We also had our first look at Leino in a Sabres uniform, and he looked pretty good.

    The Sabres play the Habs tomorrow night, possibly with some more of the regulars in the lineup.  I know some of the junior players are returning to their respective teams.  Hockey is back, and it feels great!

  • The Importance of Tyler Myers

    Ryan Lambert went trolling again, and I’m biting.  Tyler Myers is reportedly close to signing a contract (now variously reported as 6 or 7 years) for $5.5 million a year.  Most people seem to think this number fits in with the new NHL landscape, but not Lambert!  He thinks we should be storming HSBC Ar-uh, FN Center because of the money committed to Myers (possibly), Leino and Ehrhoff.  Never mind that the core of the team also includes Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek.  Is it risky to give a contract like that to a player so young?  Sure.  Buffalo is playing a different game now, and the risk is worth the reward.  Myers plays the toughest minutes of any Buffalo D, he plays PP and PK, he’s getting tougher with each passing year, and he’s got better teammates on the backend.  He’s important, and they are paying him like he’s important.

    I debated about whether to even post this, as it’s not like Lambert is going to be convinced of anything.  The only thing that will convince him that Regier is right to do this is to have Myers dominate the league this year (and hey, maybe for the next 6 or 7 too).  With Myers and Regehr (most likely to me) taking the toughest assignments, that will leave Ehrhoff to think offense.  Leino is a wild card, but he has some dynamic players to work with on the top two lines.  We don’t know what will happen, but it’s going to be an exhilarating ride.

  • Now, I love Jarome Iginla…

    …but as Scott points out a BSN, this is “Iginla for Pominville!” rumor is a big pile of nothing.  This all comes from a HockeyBuzz blog post by Garth, who says things like (not linking those guys, it’s the Stafford post if you must see it):

    I’ve been told that Pommer ($5.3 million cap hit, next three seasons) and Reggie ($2.75 million cap hit, next four seasons) would be a likely trade package to Calgary for Iginla.

    I would not be surprised at all if Buffalo were to trade Ville Leino to Calgary as part of an Iginla trade. Leino’s six year, $4.5 million UFA contract came as a shocker to all observers. Perhaps Regier grabbed Leino as a pre-emptive strike, at a value price, when he knew that he Buffalo was not a consideration to land Brad Richards on July 1. Leino is the proverbial “ghost man on first” right now. Regehr and Ehrhoff were introduced at pressers in Buffalo. Why hasn’t Leino been introduced to the people of Pegulaville?

    Now.  I probably owe my renewed love for hockey to Calgary and Jarome Iginla, as I had fallen away from the sport for a few years before the lockout (save going to the games a few times due to my buddy’s free Adelphia tix).  I loved watching the cup run the Flames made, and Jarome Iginla’s style of play is exactly what I love.  But that was years ago now.  Iggy isn’t a spring chicken, and I’m not sure trading two young, talented players for one older, more talented player with a rapidly approaching expiry date, is a good idea.  I wouldn’t kill them for it, but it would be a mark against ’em.

    What kills me is the Leino part of this, well, wouldn’t call it a rumor, more of a hope or speculation.  This isn’t the NBA, where sign-and-trade deals are a thing, and I think those are a thing because of the really odd salary structure they use (or did use, before they locked out).  Seems like a HUGE risk to sign a guy as trade bait, so I’m inclined to believe Darcy figured Richards was pretty set on NYR, and went after the next best guy he could get.  Also, who said Leino’s contract was ‘a value price’?  Anyone?  It may end up being one, the way Roy’s is now, but I can’t recall seeing ANYONE who thinks it is now.  Then there’s also the whole “Sabres need centers” thing.  Would be odd to trade him because of that, too.  The “Why hasn’t he been introduced?  HMM?” aspect might be the silliest.  Maybe the guy wasn’t available…he might be in Finland.  He might be lounging on a beach in Aruba.  It seems odd to immediately jump to ‘OMG he will be TRADED for IGGY asdfasdf;lksadjf’, but then again, I don’t write for HockeyBuzz.

  • Leino, Richards and You

    In the end, the Sabres went higher-risk/high reward by picking Ville Leino over Brad Richards.  Can Leino be a center again?  He was very good in limited faceoff duty last year.  He played the position until he was 23, so we have to hope it’s like riding a bike.  Ville has to be happy about potentially being with some solid young talent, whether it’s Gerbe or Ennis or Stafford or Pominville.  I’m willing to give this a try and get behind Leino.  Add in Ehrhoff and Regehr, hope for solid full seasons from Gerbe and Ennis, and this year should be a solid step up from the last.

    Or, Darcy Regier could trade several of the players currently on the roster away, and completely up-end my thoughts here.  Isn’t it fun?