Leino or Miller

[VM1138 1,921]

Leino is a bust. Maybe he still has the potential but unlike similar players he doesn't seem to want to improve. Those types of players are a drain.

Even at the risk of Leino developing elsewhere in a year or two, I'd rather take Miller. There's just no telling how Leino will develop, whereas Miller is producing for us right now and should continue to be a great role player for a while.

[redwingfan19 293]

I voted miller, however leino was actually.....OK last night. It looked like he at least "cared' but he is still a long ways away from being an NHLer

[Casey 145]

For discussion purposes, would anyone change their vote if it was losing Leino on waivers?

Not I. He's showing flashes of talent, but absolutely zero will to improve his game.

[LeftWinger 5,153]

Miller, 100%! Leino may be good in Finland, but he has busted his opportunities here. For Pete's sake he was given a #1 line spot for a few games during the peak of the injuries and he couldn't hack it. He will be the healthy scratch, if Babcock was gonna put him on the third line when all players are back healthy, why wouldn't he be playing now instead of Miller? Miller is better that's why... (at least here in Detroit he is....) Unfortunately someone is gonna sit, Abdelkader, Helm, Miller & May are ALL on two-way contracts so take your pick to which one(s) go to GRR to make cap room when Franzen returns. Leino won't get demoted, but if they can fit him under the cap, Miller will be in the lineup while Leino sits. From a business standpoint, you cannot lose Leino to waivers, so you'd have to demote Abdelkader first since their salaries wash each other out. Nothing personal, just business...

[Finnish Wing 110]

Miller, 100%! Leino may be good in Finland, but he has busted his opportunities here. For Pete's sake he was given a #1 line spot for a few games during the peak of the injuries and he couldn't hack it. He will be the healthy scratch, if Babcock was gonna put him on the third line when all players are back healthy, why wouldn't he be playing now instead of Miller? Miller is better that's why... (at least here in Detroit he is....) Unfortunately someone is gonna sit, Abdelkader, Helm, Miller & May are ALL on two-way contracts so take your pick to which one(s) go to GRR to make cap room when Franzen returns. Leino won't get demoted, but if they can fit him under the cap, Miller will be in the lineup while Leino sits. From a business standpoint, you cannot lose Leino to waivers, so you'd have to demote Abdelkader first since their salaries wash each other out. Nothing personal, just business...

Having a 2-way contract doesn't mean anything regarding waivers.

OT: Why choose, when you can have both?

[h2obury 6]

Miller has been way better for the Wings this year I had no idea who he was before the wings picked him up. I thought he was just going to be a body for the wings to throw on the ice during all the injuries but he has quickly established himself as a quality 3rd or 4th liner even when we get everyone healthy. I honestly cannot say the same about Leino and am seriously disappointed at how badly he has sucked this year.

[Jesusberg 1,256]

Miller. Abdelkader will get sent down, and then it's pretty much between May and Leino in regards to who will be put on waivers. They're not going to toss Maltby away, and unless they get rid of Lebda or Meech one of the two is going to have to go. So far Miller has shown far more worth... defensively and surprisingly offensively as well.

[Guest micah]

OT: Why choose, when you can have both?

Because one really sucks and playing only Miller is better than playing both.

[Guest micah]

Miller. Abdelkader will get sent down, and then it's pretty much between May and Leino in regards to who will be put on waivers.

If someone gets waived, it will be and should be May. While Leino has made a fool of himself this year, he is still relatively young and could concievably find some sort of niche in the NHL next year if he busts his ass and adjusts his attitude this summer and puts on some muscle and makes a firm decision to stop sucking so bad. May's career is behind him, he's been in the NHL for 19 years, a very impressive accomplishment. There should be no shame in his being waived. May's role was important early in the season, but his value drops as time goes on. He really has no business playing in the playoffs (though I would like a guy like him available after we secure a playoff spot). He will not be back next year, as other players will be available who can bring the same things he has. Ideally, I'd like to see Abdelkader fill that role, but he hasn't shown the heart this year. I'd rather have our muscle be a guy who was going to be playing anyway than have to bring in a dedicated fighter, but oh well.

I would love to see Laraque land here before the playoffs, he's the kind of 4th line LW that it'd be nice to have that time of year. I put the odds of that as somewhere near 2500/1 though.

[Jesusberg 1,256]

If someone gets waived, it will be and should be May. While Leino has made a fool of himself this year, he is still relatively young and could concievably find some sort of niche in the NHL next year if he busts his ass and adjusts his attitude this summer and puts on some muscle and makes a firm decision to stop sucking so bad. May's career is behind him, he's been in the NHL for 19 years, a very impressive accomplishment. There should be no shame in his being waived. May's role was important early in the season, but his value drops as time goes on. He really has no business playing in the playoffs (though I would like a guy like him available after we secure a playoff spot). He will not be back next year, as other players will be available who can bring the same things he has. Ideally, I'd like to see Abdelkader fill that role, but he hasn't shown the heart this year. I'd rather have our muscle be a guy who was going to be playing anyway than have to bring in a dedicated fighter, but oh well.

I would love to see Laraque land here before the playoffs, he's the kind of 4th line LW that it'd be nice to have that time of year. I put the odds of that as somewhere near 2500/1 though.

I imagine that time will be divided between Maltby/Leino on the 4th line... I guess I was just trying to make the point that Miller should be a shoe-in to stay, and Maltby won't be waived, leaving Leino and May as the options to be moved. I definitely think May will be the guy to move.

As far as Laraque goes... I'm not too sure, as I haven't watched much of him this season. If he could be a wrecking ball on the 4th line I would be all for it, but being deemed a "distraction" by Gainey makes me wonder what goes on behind the scenes as well.

[Guest micah]

If he could be a wrecking ball on the 4th line I would be all for it, but being deemed a "distraction" by Gainey makes me wonder what goes on behind the scenes as well.

Me too.

[uk_redwing 495]

This is pretty one sided.

[russianswede919293 95]

I like Leino but if I was forced to make a decision I would choose Miller. He is more NHL ready and he is making more of an impact. In every way, offensively defensively and physically, Miller outshines Leino in all of these categories.

I was doing some snooping and actually came accross something extremely interesting. http://www.redwingscentral.com/stories/200...2_RWCReport.php

There is a long silence when Doug Shedden is asked whether Ville Leino will be successful in the NHL. Shedden, Leino’s head coach with Jokerit Helsinki this season, pauses for thought before delivering his response.

“I think it’s going to be tough,†Shedden said. “I don’t know if his skating will hold him back or not. I hope he (makes it). He’s got the mentality to do it.â€

“It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the skating of the NHL and the smaller rink,†Shedden said. “I don’t know if it will help him or hurt him. It’s not that he’s a bad skater, it’s just that he’s not overly fast.â€

“He hangs onto the puck a lot down low and we found when he played on the national team, he didn’t raise his level to be able to score at higher levels,†Shedden said. “It will be interesting to see how he does with the Red Wings.â€

Shedden said Leino not only needs to shoot more, but also use his linemates better. He ends up losing the puck at times by doing neither.

Every issue anybody has with Leino was addressed by his Finnish League coach right when the Wings signed him. I think that his solid first year made us forget the flaws that were there when he came over. Seddon didn't even put Leino (one of his best players) on his Finnish Worlds team because he didn't elevate his talent in camp to match the NHL players.

A lot of what Seddon has said about Leino are the exact problems he has had this year in the NHL.

[Broken 16 381]

Holy landslide...

I voted Miller only because of what he's shown. I still think there is a great player somewhere inside of Leino, it's just a matter of dragging it out of him.

[Rufio 29]

Lol. Not gonna lie, I'm a little surprised Leino has 5 votes out of 77.

[Broken 16 381]

Holy landslide...

I voted Miller only because of what he's shown. I still think there is a great player somewhere inside of Leino, it's just a matter of dragging it out of him.

[StevieY9802 6]

Drew Miller has earned his spot. If they were both playing at the same level I would say Leino for his offensive upside but it's not close. Miller deserves to be in the lineup and right now Leino doesn't. Even though I think he's looked a little better the last few games but still not where he should be to knock Miller out.

[55fan 5,133]

Lol. Not gonna lie, I'm a little surprised Leino has 5 votes out of 77.

Mom, grandma, aunt, someone who clicked the wrong spot, and a fangirl who gets horny watching House.

Miller has shown that he can make a difference in role-playing situations and can step it up through effort beyond his talent when needed. No contest to me. Miller is before Leino in every way except alphabetically and by jersey number.

[Kira 451]

That's like asking if I'd rather have prime rib or a peanut butter sandwich.

I'll take Drew Miller any day

[Rufio 29]

Mom, grandma, aunt, someone who clicked the wrong spot, and a fangirl who gets horny watching House.

Miller has shown that he can make a difference in role-playing situations and can step it up through effort beyond his talent when needed. No contest to me. Miller is before Leino in every way except alphabetically and by jersey number.

No Miller is before him in jersey # too.

[55fan 5,133]

No Miller is before him in jersey # too.

Oops. For some reason I reversed which one I was putting before whom.

I'll go bang my head against a wall as punishment for my stupidity now. Carry on without me.

[Mors 201]

Leino might be trying harder, but he's still completely ineffective in every facet of the game. Miller all the way.

[eva unit zero 271]

Drew Miller. I liked him better as a gritty, good skating two-way forward with top-six upside when he was a Duck and before Leino was a Wing, and I like him better with both on the roster. Plus, I think Miller still has that kind of upside. Leino's stock is dropping really quickly; he needs some time to sort out his attitude of entitlement if he's going to play anywhere in the NHL. If Leino played with the grit and speed of a guy like Darren Helm or Stacy Roest, he'd have at least 25 goals and 50 points by now. In terms of raw offensive talent, there are probably only maybe four forwards on the roster who have more than Leino; yet he is one of the worst offensive players on the team. Sad, really.

[McAwesome 754]

At this point, I don't see how anyone could prefer keeping Leino over Miller. If Leino wants to keep his roster spot, he needs to a) hit the weight room HARD and bulk up so he doesn't get knocked off the puck every time he touches it, and b) realize that while he was brought in for his offensive skills, he needs to skate hard without the puck and go into the corners and along the boards to battle for the puck if he wants to be successful in the NHL.

I'll admit, Leino has more offensive upside than many of the other forwards on this roster, but he will never come close to realizing his potential as long as he floats and is only concerned with scoring goals. Miller has figured that part out, and he is actually scoring because he plays a complete game.

[Doggy 130]

Oops. For some reason I reversed which one I was putting before whom.

I'll go bang my head against a wall as punishment for my stupidity now. Carry on without me.

Lol. Well this changes everything.