Leino needs to improve his skating

[Icesurfer 75]

From MLIVE:

Wings looking for more from Leino

How about putting Leino on the fourth line with Abby and May until his skating improves? ..... he is minus 8.

Eaves on the other hand is a team high plus 8. As much as I love the DHE Express Line why doesn't Babcock try Eaves with Datsyuk? Babs tried Leino with Datsyuk. With Datsyuk's passing ability maybe Eaves can regain his rookie season scoring touch! Wouldn't that be sweet! It may also get Datsyuk going 5 on 5... no other line combo worked yet.

Edited December 8, 2009 by Icesurfer

[skyphoenix 153]

I agree with everything that article says. I'm 100% sure that Leino wants to work on it and is. He has been improving slightly on the puck and I hope he continues to do so. Hopefully when Filppula returns, his points start adding up and things start going his way.

Edited December 8, 2009 by skyphoenix

[titanium2 867]

“He had a tremendous camp last year and there was a lot of excitement about him,†Holland said. “Sometimes, expectations get blown out of proportion. It’s the toughest league in the world. Ideally, you’d like to have no bumps in the road, but some players do.

“Given the players we lost (over the summer), I’m sure Ville thought ‘An opportunity is there, I played well last year, I can do it again.’ Then you don’t play well and the confidence is shot.â€

Exactly.

At this point I feel like the most important thing I want to see him do on the ice is skate well. If he does that, he has a good game.

[Dano33 41]

Physically I don't think his skating will get better. It's all in his head, it's desire. He needs to remember to keep his feet moving at all times to make up for his lack of speed. If he can do that, I think he can improve his game.

[Theophany 110]

It's mainly his defensive play that makes me scream at my TV. It's pretty terrible.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

There's no disputing the fact that Leino has sucked big time this season however he is still young, inexperienced in this league and I'm far from prepared to write him off yet. He was too good in his brief stint here last year, as well as in limited minutes during the playoffs, too be written off.

As for Eaves, the kid is playing great, has a +/- rating that leads the team and I've been calling for him to be paired with Datsyuk for a while now. One thing about Eaves is that he has a very underrated shot.

[cjm502 165]

Thats what he worked on all summer, with a Finnish speed skater or something along the lines of that.

[grimace1970 81]

IMO, he needs to gain about 30 pounds and work on his puck control. He gets knocked off the puck every time he enters the zone.

[Theophany 110]

IMO, he needs to gain about 30 pounds and work on his puck control. He gets knocked off the puck every time he enters the zone.

His puck control is fine; he's a dangler.

His real deficiencies are in his skating and defensive play.

Also, since I didn't address it in my other post, but Datsyuk is doing really well for the kind of players he's been given, as a playmaker. He's got 21 points in 27 games, which is pretty good for being out there with Homer and Bertuzzi for much of the time.

Edited December 8, 2009 by Theophany

[dat's sick 1,002]

Also, since I didn't address it in my other post, but Datsyuk is doing really well for the kind of players he's been given, as a playmaker. He's got 21 points in 27 games, which is pretty good for being out there with Homer and Bertuzzi for much of the time.

Datsyuk just isn't playing as well as we know he can.. sure he'd have more points if he played with Franzen or Hossa, but he has what, 7 goals? The last two years he has had over 30, this year he's on pace for somewhere around 20. Even now, when playing with Zetterberg, he is struggling, making bad passes and getting stripped off the puck. Something is wrong with him, either physically or mentally, and all we can do is hope he sorts it out soon.

[b.shanafan14 733]

Datsyuk just isn't playing as well as we know he can.. sure he'd have more points if he played with Franzen or Hossa, but he has what, 7 goals? The last two years he has had over 30, this year he's on pace for somewhere around 20. Even now, when playing with Zetterberg, he is struggling, making bad passes and getting stripped off the puck. Something is wrong with him, either physically or mentally, and all we can do is hope he sorts it out soon.

Agree. No one should think Datsyuk is playing to potential at this point, not by a long shot. Wingers aside, he is on pace for just around 63 points this season, which is unacceptable from one of the games elite and a player who should be a 90-100 pt 35+ goal scorer. There is definitely something very wrong with Pavel this season, he doesn't even hang onto the puck the way he used to, like his old magic is gone.

As for Leino, I think he was really comfortable being an unknown factor and WOWing folks last season. Coming into this season, he was playing pretty damn great with Filppula in the middle. For the entire month before Filppula got injured, that was without question our best line, the puck just wasn't bouncing their way. I think as soon as Filppula got injured and Leino couldn't find the kind of chemistry he was enjoying to that point, coupled with his lack of scoring, his confidence was shot.

For Leino, the expectations were far too high, with everyone calling him a Calder contender in the pre-season and even some of us predicting anywhere from 20 to 30 goals out of him. Then his confidence was starting to waver a bit when he was playing well with Filppula and the puck wasn't going in like he is accustom. Then Filppula going down was the final straw.

I actually see a lot of the same things out of Pavel as I do from Leino, with the obvious difference being Pavel's elite skill set: both of them have flashes of brilliance this season that go unrewarded. Both of them have moments where they appear to be trying to do to much on their own and finding that their usual tricks aren't working for one reason or another. Both have those moments in a game when the puck starts heading the other way and they seem reluctant to follow, like "not again...."

Both need some luck, some confidence, and some help.

Edited December 8, 2009 by b.shanafan14

[13dangledangle 968]

I like alot of other people around here set a pretty high bar for Ville Leino. He looks good on very rare occassions, when his 13 or so games last was the opposite! However Im not giving up on this kid yet. I think people speculating positive things to happen when Flip comes back is right on for sure...but here is hoping!

[MacAttack25 44]

I think Leino will come around eventually. We should at least give him the chance to. In the mean time, I'd love to see Eaves get more playing time, I think he's earned it.

[Jake Ryan 1]

In all honesty, if Leino doesn't go see Chelios and get on the juice, he will never be a good NHL'er.

[Theophany 110]

Datsyuk just isn't playing as well as we know he can.. sure he'd have more points if he played with Franzen or Hossa, but he has what, 7 goals? The last two years he has had over 30, this year he's on pace for somewhere around 20. Even now, when playing with Zetterberg, he is struggling, making bad passes and getting stripped off the puck. Something is wrong with him, either physically or mentally, and all we can do is hope he sorts it out soon.

Datsyuk is a playmaker. He played with Franzen for 3 games. He's had to deal with Bertuzzi for most of the season thus far. It's only in the past 2-3 games that he's been paired with Zetterberg.

Playmakers need other players in order to live up to past performance. He's not Rick Nash, who can score through everyone else on the other team and score regardless of who is on the ice with him.

Expecting him to live up to his past performance without Franzen or another scoring forward is unrealistic.

[Carman 387]

Datsyuk is a playmaker. He played with Franzen for 3 games. He's had to deal with Bertuzzi for most of the season thus far. It's only in the past 2-3 games that he's been paired with Zetterberg.

Playmakers need other players in order to live up to past performance. He's not Rick Nash, who can score through everyone else on the other team and score regardless of who is on the ice with him.

Expecting him to live up to his past performance without Franzen or another scoring forward is unrealistic.

Well, he doesn't have that excuse on the PP.

[Theophany 110]

Well, he doesn't have that excuse on the PP.

Yeah, but out of the 20:21 that he's on the ice every night, how much time is PP?

I'm not trying to make excuses for Datsyuk on the PP, but our PP is 8th in the NHL.

[Carman 387]

Yeah, but out of the 20:21 that he's on the ice every night, how much time is PP?

I'm not trying to make excuses for Datsyuk on the PP, but our PP is 8th in the NHL.

I take that back, he is doing much better on the PP then I thought.

[dat's sick 1,002]

Datsyuk is a playmaker. He played with Franzen for 3 games. He's had to deal with Bertuzzi for most of the season thus far. It's only in the past 2-3 games that he's been paired with Zetterberg.

Playmakers need other players in order to live up to past performance. He's not Rick Nash, who can score through everyone else on the other team and score regardless of who is on the ice with him.

Expecting him to live up to his past performance without Franzen or another scoring forward is unrealistic.

He's on pace for 20 goals and 62 points. I don't care if he's playing with me and you, that's too much of a drop for me to be able to blame it only on his linemates.

I watched every game last year, and I've seen every game this year. Pavel is NOT playing as well this year as he did the last. With a Hossa or Franzen on his wing, YES he would have more points, definitely more assists, but playing with Bertuzzi is not an excuse for making bad passes, refusing to take shots when he should and just not looking like himself most of the time. He makes mistakes that you don't usually see him do.

I'm not bashing Pavel, and I'm certainly not expecting him to lead the league in scoring with Bert and Homer on his wings. But come on, you can't tell me you're not seeing what I'm seeing? Hossa didn't make him into one of the best players in the league last year, and Bert hasn't made him into a decent one this year.

You're right, he's not Rick Nash. He's better. This is what he was doing every other night last year:

But I guess that's what you can do when you don't have Bert or Homer on your line.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Leino needs to improve much more than his skating.

[cjm502 165]

Leino is lazy and he sucks.

[Echolalia 2,961]

I'm not ready to give up on this kid. He has so much potential, but he gets thrown off the puck too easy and seems a step behind the speed of the NHL. Granted its a shame that he hasn't been able to live up to the expectations he set last year, but I suppose I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up so high about him being an immediate success.

[Hockeytown_Ryan 122]

Leino is lazy and he sucks.

I believe that needs to be trademarked.

Also Its not Leino..... It's Lame-O And yes.. he needs another year, But he still stinks!

[Theophany 110]

He's on pace for 20 goals and 62 points. I don't care if he's playing with me and you, that's too much of a drop for me to be able to blame it only on his linemates.

I watched every game last year, and I've seen every game this year. Pavel is NOT playing as well this year as he did the last. With a Hossa or Franzen on his wing, YES he would have more points, definitely more assists, but playing with Bertuzzi is not an excuse for making bad passes, refusing to take shots when he should and just not looking like himself most of the time. He makes mistakes that you don't usually see him do.

I'm not bashing Pavel, and I'm certainly not expecting him to lead the league in scoring with Bert and Homer on his wings. But come on, you can't tell me you're not seeing what I'm seeing? Hossa didn't make him into one of the best players in the league last year, and Bert hasn't made him into a decent one this year.

You're right, he's not Rick Nash. He's better. This is what he was doing every other night last year:

But I guess that's what you can do when you don't have Bert or Homer on your line.

I'm sorry, but just because Pavel isn't scoring goals doesn't mean that he lost his touch; fully 2/3 of his points last year came from assists. Guess what? Same exact thing this year, but less so because he's missing Franzen.

He's also on probably the worst defensive line we have, BTW. Bert is even as far as liability goes in the defensive end, though I would probably put him more on the minus side of that, since he's capable of making some really terrible plays. Holmstrom is probably the biggest defensive liability on this team, maybe second to Leino because he knows what he's doing.

Datsyuk can't try and strip pucks on the forecheck because if he does and misses, that creates an odd-man break back into his D zone, and he has to play catch-up. With Franzen or Zetterberg on his line, he can afford to do that on the forecheck, but with Bertuzzi and Holmstrom? Forget about it.

Also remember, our focus this year as a team has been defensive responsibility.

You're being incredibly two dimensional in your view of what has caused Datsyuk's lack of scoring; apparently he's either scoring or not scoring, and there are no other variables than 'on' or 'off'.

Rick Nash is a better goal scorer, BTW. Datsyuk makes his goals look pretty, but Nash gets it done and scores more goals, because that's who he is; he's a power forward, and Datsyuk is a playmaker.

Just sayin'.

[Kwame_Kilpatrick 0]

leino just was brave last year, he doesnt take intelligent risks though this year, hes just bad in his reading of the game. pav looks like zetterberg last year but worse with the confidence, z still isnt playing as good as he was in 2007-08