Ville Leino is patiently waiting for his turn. Leino has carried his inspired play over to the regular season after becoming one of the Flyers playoff heroes in their march to the Stanley Cup Finals last spring.* Since being “stolen” from the Detroit Redwings just prior to the trading deadline last year, Leino has established himself as a fixture in the Flyers lineup. Often skating alongside Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell, the trio combines a unique blend of speed, puck handling abilities, and grit that constantly causes headaches for opposing teams as they try to slow a balanced Flyers attack.
After seeing fellow teammates Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux sign their own contract extensions, respectively, Ville Leino has sat back and let his play do his negotiating. Yet, the NHL is stringent in regards to franchise payroll capabilities. “Tagging” players in terms of future seasons is regulated in the fact that teams cannot already commit to player salaries that are higher than the current salary cap maximum. Due to the fact that the Flyers are amongst the select group of teams in the NHL that continually spend as close to the ceiling of the salary cap as humanly possible, the club found itself facing a decision. The team could work out a new deal with Leino now or acquire a player to help in a playoff run. In essence, the Flyers would have to wait until the offseason to conduct business with Leino, for the NHL determines next season’s salary cap after analyzing all the figures from the previous season to determine expected growth in profits. (The number has risen every year since the salary cap was instituted during the 2004-05 lockout.)
Despite the collection of players that General Manager Paul Holmgren had assembled on his roster, management felt that this is a Flyers team that can not only compete, but could contend for the Stanley Cup. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that as the trade deadline fast approached, the club would scour the league looking to add a piece or two that will solve the playoff puzzle that the franchise was so close to conquering last spring. After finding what he hopes is the missing element in Toronto Maple Leafs Kris Versteeg, GM Paul Holmgren took it upon himself to do the unthinkable: he sat down and consulted with Ville Leino about the prospect of acquiring the forward. While management usually does not inquire about personnel moves with current players on the roster, Holmgren found it imperative to seek out Leino’s thoughts. In doing so, Holmgren was able to complete several bullet points on his checklist. First and foremost, discussing with Leino the Flyers wish to resign him to a long term contract at salary that is in line with his production and worth to the franchise. In addition, with the possible acquisition of Kris Versteeg, the window would essentially close on achieving any new deal until the offseason, for the cap hit of Versteeg would prevent the Flyers in “tagging” Leino.
Through taking the time and conversing with Ville Leino and obtaining his blessing, Paul Holmgren was able to complete the trade for Kris Versteeg that not only improved the Flyers depth for their upcoming run at the Stanley Cup, but may also have prevented any misunderstandings in the offseason negotiations with one of his key players. Kudos go out to Paul Holmgren for executing a simple, yet well thought out scheme and to Ville Leino who put his own personal gain on the back burner to add Kris Versteeg to the Flyers roster. Realizing what is at stake for both parties, both men put the team first and made it known that the offseason would have to be the time for a new contract to come to fruition. When the sit opposite each other at the bargaining table this summer, both hope they will be signing the contract with a shiny, diamond encrusted Stanley Cup ring on their fingers.
*In 19 playoff games, Leino registered 7 goals and 14 assists for 21 points.
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