Ville Leino opening up heavily about Buffalo: "Thank goodness it's over"
Ville Leino, now with MedveÅ¡čak Zagreb, does not spare words over his time with the Buffalo Sabres.
Ville Leino is likely to debut on saturday with the KHL-club MedveÅ¡čak Zagreb. The Finnish forward moved to Croatian club from North-America, following a buyout from a lucrative deal with Buffalo Sabres. The NHL-club pays Leino 1,22 million dollars per year for the next 6 years.
Leino talked with the media in Zagreb on Friday, and did not pull punches when discussing his time with Buffalo. Last year he already knew during the season that his time with the Sabres would end.
- It felt like everything went wrong in there. I was injured all the time and I had a lot of pressure because of the money. Last season they just wanted to go through the games and buy me out no matter what. I sensed it and knew it was coming, said Leino according to hockey blogger Mislav Jantoljak.
- It's difficult to play when everything goes against you every day, and you don't know what the situation is. Thank goodness it's over now, Leino continued.
Last season Sabres won only 21 games and was clearly the worst team in NHL with 52 points. According to Leino the organization was much weaker than other organizations he'd been part of in the past.
- Philadelphia and Detroit were good organizations, but Buffalo wasn't. During my time they fired two head coaches and a GM. From the players we had when I got there, only few remain.
- I was disappointed with Buffalo's organization and players, and I feel things will be much the same in there for few more years. It's difficult to play in the NHL if you don't have a good team. My time there was quite hard, but sometimes life gives you hardship and you just need to bounce back.