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Leino: On The Whole, I’d Rather Be In Philadelphia
by VooX on 02/06/10 at 12:15 PM ET
Comments (32)
Update 14:40 - Tick Tock places Tollefson on waivers.
As reported on the Main Page, confirmed by TSN, and several members of the 19 in today’s GDT, Ville Leino has been traded.
According to our sources in the locker room, Uncle Mike has been so upset with Leino’s lack of effort and overall let-down of a season, he begged Tick Tock to punish Ville in the worst way possible.
They sent him to Philadelphia.
You may think we would only get a bag of pucks in return, instead we get $600,000 defenceman Ole-Kristian Tollefson and a 5th round draft pick in 2011.
While Tollefson is a RFA at the end of this season, the Wings shed Leino’s $800,000 salary and lose one of the biggest disappointments on the team.
I don’t know much about Tollefsen as I don’t often watch teams other than the Red Wings (I did see the Leafs’ spectacular meltdown last night), but I understand he is currently injured. So he won’t be playing in the lineup anytime soon. In other words, a perfect substitute for Leino who has been in Uncle Mike’s doghouse all year.
We shed $200,000 in cap space, I am assuming to enable Tick Tock to waive/trade as few players as possible in anticipation of the return of the Mule and Lilja. I’m no capologist or pharmacist, but I think this may be just enough breathing room to allow some of the guys we signed this season to stick around.
If Tollefsen does return to health, he may replace Lebda as our 3rd pair defenceman. Lord knows, he couldn’t do much worse than Lebda has this season.
In Tick Tock we trust.
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Comments
What happened to Ville? I don’t think even he knows. He obviously has skills and he didn’t pull a Ryno or Axelson and return home. He stuck it out and tried. I wish him no ill will. Perhaps he’ll re-find his game in Philly. If nothing else he can learn phizzics from Sasquatch.
Posted by calquake on 02/06/10 at 12:23 PM ET
From the Previous thread.
Not really a surprise. A healthy scratch for the last 6 or 7 games.
Posted by RWBill from The Road to 94 began 3 games ago. Wake Up! on 02/06/10 at 11:50 AM ET
Not really a surprise at all. Sometimes a player, for whatever reason, just doesn’t fit. I have thought that from the beginning. To me he never seemed to care enough.The bar is set pretty high when you finally get your chance to show “how bad do you want it?”
Apparently not bad enough. If he was good enough to make the grade he would still be in the system.
Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!
Posted by Kate from Pa. on 02/06/10 at 12:26 PM ET
Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 02/06/10 at 12:27 PM ET
What happened to Ville? I don’t think even he knows. He obviously has skills and he didn’t pull a Ryno or Axelson and return home. He stuck it out and tried. I wish him no ill will.
I hope he either finds success in Philadelphia or can return home to Finland at least secure that he tried. He gave the NHL more than a token couple weeks effort, so he shouldn’t have any regrets on that front.
Some players are far more successful in the European leagues than they are in the NHL, and he might be one of those players. It was worth a shot to spend a couple years trying to find out if he could play in the NHL with the Red Wings - he might have a career yet, they Eastern conference is a different style from the Western conference.
Best of luck, kid.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 02/06/10 at 12:30 PM ET
Tollefsen is not injured. Has been a healty scratch since Flyers signed Krajicek. He probably has a little more toughness than the rest of the defencemen on the Wings roster and has played pretty steady since his return from injury (+2 in 8 games).
Posted by Fredrik from Norway on 02/06/10 at 12:31 PM ET
From THN:
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen
ASSETS: Loves to lay on the body and displays a wealth of toughness and aggression along the blueline. Has the makings of a sound defensive defenseman.
FLAWS: Needs to improve his all-around skills, since he’s below average with the puck. Must learn when to pick his spots in the hitting department.
CAREER POTENTIAL: Physical depth defenseman.
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie on 02/06/10 at 12:34 PM ET
I’m sad to see that Leino didn’t work out for the Wings. Now that he’s playing for the Flyers, I can’t say I wish him well. How about I don’t wish him ill? That’s about as nice as I can be when talking about a Flyer.
OKT has been put on Waivers and will play in GR if he clears. Pretty solid move by Tick Tock. This takes the whole $800k off the cap hit. If OKT doesn’t clear waivers and is picked up, well at least we got that fifth rounder, so it’s not like we leave empty-handed. If he does clear (which I’m guessing he will), he gets a chance to be a black ace for us in the playoffs with his size and propensity to hit.
Also… it gives us another defenseman with league experience, meaning don’t get too comfortable, Mebdeech.
Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 02/06/10 at 12:45 PM ET
I’m sad to see that Leino didn’t work out for the Wings. Now that he’s playing for the Flyers, I can’t say I wish him well. How about I don’t wish him ill? That’s about as nice as I can be when talking about a Flyer.
What if he turns into a Penguin-killer? Like Nash with his frequent hat-tricks against Detroit? 
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 02/06/10 at 12:48 PM ET
What if he turns into a Penguin-killer? Like Nash with his frequent hat-tricks against Detroit?A
I believe it was Sun Tzu who said “The enemy of my enemy is my friend; unless he plays for the Flyers, in which case, screw him with hedge clippers.”
Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 02/06/10 at 12:52 PM ET
I don’t think Sun Tzu said hedge clippers, that must have been a poor translation.
You can’t tell me that if he leads to headlines like “Leino’s seven points key in 8-4 defeat of Pittsburgh” wouldn’t make you chuckle a little bit. Just a little?
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 02/06/10 at 12:56 PM ET
Previous thread….
Just a reminder:
I was the first to point out that Leino was E/Conf material.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from the “NOT QUITE DEAD PIRATE” on 02/06/10 at 01:01 PM ET
Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 02/06/10 at 01:09 PM ET
So a Finn leaves for a Norwegian? How many Norwegians have the Wings had? Not that many in the NHL compared to Sweden and Finland I don’t think.
Another hitting stay at home defenseman should be a good thing, although we usually generate offense from the defensive zone. As long as he doesn’t turn it over I’ll be happy and that will be an improvement.
Should be wake up for Ericccsssson, Meech, Lebda, you can be replaced.
163 NHL career games, only 18 this season with Philly.
Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 02/06/10 at 01:21 PM ET
Just a reminder:
I was the first to point out that Leino was E/Conf material.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from the “NOT QUITE DEAD PIRATE” on 02/06/10 at 01:01 PM ET
And here’s a Werther’s hard candy for your wise prognostication. Congrats.
Just kidding, Gramps.
—
Meech isn’t going anywhere until Kenny gets a pick from a team that picks him up as a RFA in the summer. May and Lebda however…
I like this trade a lot. But will the Wings carry 8 D again next year? Ericsson, Kindl, Lilja and OKT mixing it up on the bottom pairing? Honestly, I might prefer Lilja and OKT there. Because they do, you know, what a 5/6 defenseman is supposed to do. Is Kindl without a doubt coming up to the big club?
Posted by pilgrim from the ice at the bottom of the world on 02/06/10 at 01:21 PM ET
Just a reminder:
I was the first to point out that Leino was E/Conf material.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from the “NOT QUITE DEAD PIRATE” on 02/06/10 at 01:01 PM ET
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from the “NOT QUITE DEAD PIRATE” on 02/06/10 at 01:09 PM ET
you rule, we suck,
you wish
Posted by edillac from isolation on 02/06/10 at 01:22 PM ET
there is this thing called touyube, just checked out Tollefsen there, nice hits, stand up for himself, we need to get Mule’s doctors to fix this guy up for the playoffs, and scare some shit into Bret, Error and Meech or The Breach trio, jobs are hard to come by boys, dont take it too easy
Posted by edillac from isolation on 02/06/10 at 01:42 PM ET
Just a reminder:
I was the first to point out that Leino was E/Conf material.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from the “NOT QUITE DEAD PIRATE” on 02/06/10 at 01:01 PM ET
Congratulation. Are you Gregg Easterbrook?
Andy must be throwing a party right now, we need Regehr to complete the trend
Posted by Guilherme from Brazsil on 02/06/10 at 01:54 PM ET
I always remember OKT being a nasty guy from watching him with the BJs… seemed to be an agitating type of player, but always willing to drop the gloves.
Of course, that’s a hazy memory, and I’m a couple of hours late to the party anyway…
Posted by RedMenace from the darkest recesses on 02/06/10 at 01:58 PM ET
Oh, and OKT waived:
3rd paragraph.
Posted by RedMenace from the darkest recesses on 02/06/10 at 02:00 PM ET
... and Mr. Kukla said it in the main thread, so I’m really late to that one too.
Le sigh.
Posted by RedMenace from the darkest recesses on 02/06/10 at 02:02 PM ET
May miss the LB due to repairs on the Back to The Future truck, my ‘85 Toyota’s 22R. Allegedly an indestructible piece of machinery, until you find a bad mechanic somewhere in the Southwestern United States.
Gotta pull the block but first, let’s knock that piston out that is stuck in place after the timing chain skipped a tooth.
And, as always, Let’s Go Fuching Red Wings!
Posted by Sullyosis from A hateful lair in Post Apocalyptic US (or Arizona) on 02/06/10 at 02:11 PM ET
I really wanted Leino to work out, but alas, he didn’t. I think he gave it a good try—after all, he COULD HAVE run back to Finland last year already, but he didn’t. I hope he works out somewhere else—preferably in the east.
Now I’m going to go and wallow in my pessimism. I’m not feeling too hopeful about today’s game. But that’s not unusual for me. 
Posted by cmk from the top part of MI on 02/06/10 at 02:17 PM ET
After watching him struggle this season I’m surprised that Leino was picked up by anyone, but the Flyers were a huge surprise to me considering their style of play.
Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!
Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 02/06/10 at 02:38 PM ET
Maybe they’ll put his locker next to Pronger’s and try and let Dr. Sasquatch break him in.
Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 02/06/10 at 02:43 PM ET
May miss the LB due to repairs on the Back to The Future truck, my ‘85 Toyota’s 22R.
One of the best little engines ever made Sully. If nothing else, it should be resurrected and made into a rock crawler (assuming it’s 4x4).
Leino, meh no real loss to us other than a few bucks really… and making room for the Mule is nearly priceless.
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 02/06/10 at 02:59 PM ET
An entire day of hockey. Great way to spend the Blizzard 2010.
Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!
Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 02/06/10 at 03:06 PM ET
Leino’s already opening his mouth….
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2010/02/ville_leino_jabs_back_former_r.html
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 02/06/10 at 03:10 PM ET
MO: Well, he’d HAVE to say something positive, right?
Posted by cmk from the top part of MI on 02/06/10 at 03:26 PM ET
You can’t tell me that if he leads to headlines like “Leino’s seven points key in 8-4 defeat of Pittsburgh” wouldn’t make you chuckle a little bit. Just a little?
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 02/06/10 at 12:56 PM ET
I wouldn’t just chuckle, I’d be pretty pumped. I wish him no harm whatsoever. Bummed it didn’t work out with him as he seemed to have potential to be great, but after enough time, enough is enough, and obviously that time is now. Can’t say I disagree.
Posted by stayouttamalibu from Temporarily in Tempe, AZ on 02/06/10 at 03:42 PM ET
I’m good with this.
I wrote a blog the other day about why they shouldn’t waive Leino… but, one of the first qualifications I made was that if they could actually get somebody to give them something for him, by all means, faux him.
For the record, I had a bad feeling about Leino from the get-go. He had a way about him… his attitude, when he said in the press about how he would NEVER play for Grand Rapids again because he was basically too good for that.
well… apparently your not Ville. Your just Grigorinko 2 bitch.
Posted by perfection from LaLaLand on 02/06/10 at 03:48 PM ET
perfection: We went through what he said in the press at the time it was said and I STILL think he was misunderstood. You almost have to BE a Finn to understand a Finn. (I’m 100% Finn, so…) I really don’t think he had a bad attitude, I just don’t think he knew the right words. But then, I could be wrong, too. 
Posted by cmk from the top part of MI on 02/06/10 at 03:53 PM ET
So a Finn leaves for a Norwegian? How many Norwegians have the Wings had? Not that many in the NHL compared to Sweden and Finland I don’t think.
Posted by RWBill from The Road to 94 began 3 games ago. Wake Up! on 02/06/10 at 01:21 PM ET
Two. Bjørn Skaare played a game (or rather a shift) in 78. Anders Myrvold played 8 games in 03/04. More on them here: http://fightnightatthejoe.blogspot.com/2009/11/welcome-aka-norwegian-wings-post.html
My thoughts on the trade (copied from my comment on BDS):
This is two thirds of a good move. Getting rid of Ville and getting a draft pick great. Getting Tollefsen too, good. Sending him down, bad move. I’m one of the guys who doesn’t really want one of my countrymen on the Wings team (see the drug-addled moron named Anders Myrvold), but having Tollefsen there would have made sense. As you say he is a tough, defensive defenseman and I would like to see that. He’s injury prone and now and then makes bad plays (like on Bozak’s first NHL goal), but he brings things to the table that Mebdeech doesn’t. He is much safer defensively, he is big and strong and he’s a fighter so the Wings could just go ahead and waive Brad May. IMO May and/or Meech/Lebda should have been waived and Tollefsen should have stayed.
Posted by Andy from FightNight on 02/07/10 at 10:57 AM ET
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You don’t have the heart to be a Red Wing. You’ll be a great fit on a team that just seems to naturally attract heartless players who believe giving 75% is more than enough.
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie on 02/06/10 at 12:20 PM ET