What a difference a new owner makes. The arrival of Terry Pegula in Buffalo has brought the Sabres Robyn Regehr, Christian Ehrhoff, and now a new face for their offensive attack as well. The Sabres signed former Flyers forward Ville Leino to a six year, $27 million deal to have him plug in on the Sabres top two lines and continue growing as an offensive threat.
Leino saw his career pickup when he went to Philadelphia after starting his career in Detroit. Under Mike Babcock he struggled but in Philly with Peter Laviolette, he emerged as a threat during the Flyers run to the Stanley Cup finals in 2010 scoring seven goals and adding 14 assists. Last season, Leino scored 19 goals and 34 assists for the Flyers as he helped the Flyers to the Atlantic Division title.
As an unrestricted free agent this year and looking for offers in the range of $4.5 million a year, Leino got his wish and he’s got Buffalo GM Darcy Regier and owner Terry Pegula for it. In Buffalo he’ll team up with Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, and Drew Stafford in a pack of scorers that can all finish. The Sabres offense paired up with their improved defense with the additions of Regehr and Ehrhoff, we’re thinking all world goalie Ryan Miller is feeling a lot better about things in western New York.