Ville Leino will test the free agent market.
Ville Leino To Hit Free Agent Market After Failing To Reach Contract With Philadelphia Flyers
According to the Philadelphia Daily News, the Philadelphia Flyers offered the soon-to-be free agent forward a four year, $12 million contract and that was their best offer. Leino, quite simply, believes he deserves more than that and will likely get it on the free agent market.
It’s definitely possible that, after seeing what’s out there, Leino returns to Philadelphia after not getting more than the Flyers offered him, but with the offensive tools that Leino possesses, you have to assume that some team (perhaps one closer to the salary floor) will pay him more than that and that the Finn will take the money.
For the Flyers, it's about the need for defensive forwards. There's a lot of nostalgia among Flyers fans for Leino's surge during the 2010 postseason, but when push comes to shove, he's one of the most sheltered forwards in terms of defensive zone time in the NHL. After trading defensively responsible forwards Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, the Flyers are better off allocating that money to a player that can play at both ends of the ice.
For more on Leino’s old team, check in with Broad Street Hockey.
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