| Ville Leino | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 6, 1983 Savonlinna, Finland |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) |
| Position | Forward |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Buffalo Sabres NHL Detroit Red Wings Philadelphia Flyers SM-liiga Ilves HPK Jokerit |
| National team | Finland |
| NHL Draft | Undrafted |
| Playing career | 2002–present |
Ville Leino (born October 6, 1983) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who plays for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers.
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Leino started playing hockey at age 17 for his hometown team SaPKo in the Suomi-sarja. He was recruited into the SM-liiga by Ilves, and later moved on to HPK, where he led the team in scoring in the 2005-06 season when HPK won their first SM-liiga championship.
In 2007, Leino was signed by Jokerit where he was switched from center to wing. In his first season with the team, he broke the club record for most points in the regular season when he surpassed Timo Sutinen's record of 73.[1] He went on to finish second in scoring, and won the Lasse Oksanen trophy for the best player during the regular season in the SM-liiga.[2]
On May 10, 2008, Leino signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[3][4] Due to the Wings salary cap issues, Leino was then assigned to affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock commented that Leino was the "best player" he had ever sent to the minors.[5] Ville was eventually recalled from the Griffins on January 29, 2009.[6]
In the first period of his NHL debut on January 31, 2009, Leino scored a goal against goaltender José Théodore in a 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. Leino is one of the few players that have scored a goal in their first NHL appearance.[7]
Leino signed a one-way, two-year extension with the Red Wings on July 6, 2009.
On February 6, 2010, Ville Leino was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Norwegian defenceman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a 5th-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.[8] Leino had two goals and two assists in fourteen games with the Flyers in the regular season.
Leino started the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the press box, but injuries to Simon Gagné and Jeff Carter called Leino into action. Forming the most potent line in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Daniel Brière and Scott Hartnell, Leino recorded seven goals and fourteen assists for 21 points in 19 games. This tied the rookie record for most points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs held by Dino Ciccarelli.[9]
On March 12, 2011, Leino recorded his first career hat-trick against the Atlanta Thrashers.
On April 24, 2011, during the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against Buffalo, Leino scored the game winning goal in overtime of game 6 of the series to bring Philadelphia even with Buffalo, 3 games to 3. He finished the playoffs with three goals and two assists as the Flyers were swept in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.
Leino became an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2011 season. He signed a 6 year contract with the Buffalo Sabres on July 1, 2011 worth $27 million.[10]
Leino made his international debut on Team Finland on the 2006–07 Euro Hockey Tour.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | SaPKo | Suomi-sarja | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | SaPKo | Suomi-sarja | 15 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Ilves | SM-l | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Ilves | SM-l | 54 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2004–05 | Ilves | SM-l | 56 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | HPK | SM-l | 56 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 65 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | HPK | SM-l | 50 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 73 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 31 | ||
| 2007–08 | Jokerit | SM-l | 55 | 28 | 49 | 77 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 57 | 15 | 31 | 46 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 42 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 81 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| SM-l totals | 294 | 69 | 136 | 205 | 214 | 49 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 49 | ||||
| NHL totals | 149 | 30 | 43 | 73 | 38 | 37 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 6 | ||||
| AHL totals | 57 | 15 | 31 | 46 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 10 | ||||
| Preceded by Cory Murphy |
Winner of the Lasse Oksanen trophy 2007–08 |
Succeeded by Juuso Riksman |