Here's an interesting thought - would everyone be making as big a deal about Ville Leino's success if he didn't arrive in Philadelphia via a trade with Detroit?

Almost every story that you read about Ville Leino's play-off success is preceded by "Detroit castaway" or "Red Wings exile".  Would it be the same if he was traded to Philly from the Florida Panthers or Edmonton Oilers?

I feel that the NHL as a whole is pretty much aware that Kenny Holland is the gold standard for GM's when it comes building a sustainably successful franchise.  Therefore, people are shocked and appalled when Holland makes a move that benefits other teams more so than Detroit (see Kyle Quincey).

So is Ville's story magnified by the fact that Holland was the one who traded Leino away?

Look, we all knew that Leino was a talented kid.  But in 42 games played for a beat up and short-handed Detroit squad desperate for production, Leino only managed 7 points.  That just wasn't going to cut it.  Leino might have benefited from another stint in Grand Rapids, but Holland had promised him that he wouldn't send him back down to the AHL.

There are two major factors that forced Detroit to deal Leino when they did...

1. Gary's Salary Cap
2. Holland's integrity

Andreas Lilja was finally getting healthy and we couldn't hide his Cap hit anymore.  Lilja was needed to help bolster the PK.  Leino was being regularly scratched (healthy).  So what do you do with a player who is producing when you can't send to the minors?  You trade him.  Lilja came back in and indeed helped the PK and Detroit went on a phenomenal run to make the play-offs and earn the 5th spot while Philly squeaked into the play-offs on the last day of the regular season.  So it looked like the move was a good deal for Detroit.

But now because Detroit was eliminated by San Jose/the officiating in that series, and Philly is in the Stanley Cup Finals and Leino has 15 points in 16 games...now it's looking like the deal was better for Philly.

I can tell you one person who probably isn't surprised by Leino's success - Ken Holland.  If he didn't think the kid was a bonified NHL-er, then he wouldn't have signed him in the first place.  But things just weren't working out for Detroit and because of extenuating circumstances, we couldn't wait any longer.

Would Leino have flourished in the Detroit system if he would have stayed?  Maybe, maybe not.  But the same holds true for whether or not he'll be able to keep the pace as a Flyer.

Regardless, I wish Leino nothing but the best...please beat Chicago, Ville.

Comments (3)

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written by Garth, June 04, 2010

No, of course it wouldn't be a story because there's no bigger sport in hockey media than trying to take the Wings down a peg or two.

How long have we been hearing about the Red Wings' age catching up to them? You know, after playing more games than any other team since the lockout.

Yet over at Kukla's corner there's an apologist article about Toews and Richards not running out of gas because the 22 and 25 year olds played OVER 100 games this season!!! Ohhh, poor baby, maybe we need to give the teams a week off so they can recover.

But Detroit is too old.

The only other story that CBC keeps bringing up is that Ben Eager used to be a Flyer. There's even hardly been any mention since the series started that Michael Leighton used to be a Hawk. Yet nobody will shut up about how Hossa chose the Hawks over Detroit. About how Detroit was stupid to deal Leino. About how the Wings let the second coming of Gretzky go when they let Kopecky leave.

If Leino was on Pittsburgh and got traded it would've been Ray Shero feeling bad because Leino wasn't getting a chance, so he was magnanimously sent to Philly in order to help him.

But Detroit made a huge mistake trading away a guy they COULDN'T AFFORD TO KEEP BECAUSE OF THE CAP.

It's funny, you didn't see people genuflecting in front of Paul Holmgren because of the amazing steal he made when he picked up Leino. You didn't see anyone outraged that Leino didn't play for a full month after he was traded. Nobody said peep about the fact that Daniel Carcillo was in the Flyers playoff lineup before Ville Leino was or that he only got into the lineup because Jeff Carter AND Simon Gagne got injured. No Flyers fan cackled with glee and rubbed his hands together, talking about how Philly was finally going to release their secret weapon on the unsuspecting league.

Hey, maybe if Pavel Datsyuk broke his foot this season and Leino had to play on the top line he would've played for Detroit the way he's been playing for Philly.

Does ANY Red Wing fan wish that happened?

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written by Mackster, June 05, 2010

I don't dislike Leino and I wish he could have scored more goals for Detroit, but the fact of the matter is that he had his chance and just could not fit in with the wings style of play. It's easier to stand out in Philly because they do not have the depth of players that Detroit has. Maybe Leino will go on to great things, who knows, but he would not have done them in Detroit. The salary cap affects all teams, not just Detroit. In Holland we trust.

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written by Lauren H, June 06, 2010

All the people bitching and moaning saying that Holland made a mistake by trading Leino are the same people that were bitching and moaning saying we should trade him in the first place because he wasn't playing well.

They just want to bitch and moan about something.

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