The Buffalo Sabres have had plenty of mis-steps during their playoff drought, but in terms of free agent signings, there is none worse than the signing of Ville Leino. The Sabres would sign Leino to a six-year deal worth $27 million in a move that seemed like a bad deal right from the start.
Leino made his NHL debut in 2008-09 with the Detroit Red Wings and in 13 games had nine points and would play 42 games the following season with only four goals and three assists before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. In his one full season with the Flyers, which also the final year of his contract, Leino had a career season with 19 goals and 34 assists.
The Sabres saw something in Leino that they believed was a player on the rise, and if he continued to be a 50+ point per season player would have been worth that contract. However, he only had 20 career points in the two seasons prior to that, and those seasons would be more reflective of the player the Sabres were getting.
Ville Leino only played three of the six seasons of his contract with the Buffalo Sabres
In his first season with the Sabres, it was clear that they made a mistake as he played in 71 games and had only eight goals and 17 assists. However, the production only got worse from there as he played in only eight games the next season due to a hip injury and had only six points that season.
The final season was easily the worst, and why the Sabres ultimately decided to waive Leino and complete a buyout. He would play in only 58 games again due to injury, but failed to score a single goal and had 15 total points.
When looking back at this move, it was clearly a free agent signing made out of desperation as the Buffalo Sabres were trying to get back to the playoffs. However, these types of free agent moves really work out and often set teams back even further from their goal.