Leino is the new pink...I mean Kopecky

TK keeping up on his nutrients...because it's tough posting a -7 every year

Heading into this season, one of the big "Questions for 2010" was seeing if Ville Leino could at least partially help fill the void left by Hossa, Samuelsson and Hudler. Nobody thought he would come in and duplicate Hossa's effort, but I know at least one person on the TPL staff who thought he could eclipse Sammy and potentially keep pace with what Scuttles did. He just needed more ice time, right?

Turns out, we should have looked to a different offseason loss as a measuring stick - Tomas Kopecky.

Through 14 games played this season, Leino is averaging .21 points/game at a minus 4, with 2 goals and a helper. Compare that with the following numbers from Hudler, Samantha and Kopy last season:

Hudler: 82 games at .70 points/game, +7
Samuelsson: 81 games at .49 points/game, even
Kopecky: 79 games at .24 points/game, -7

For all the crap we gave Jiri for his Rich-Rod contract drama...and all the beef we dished Sammy for not being able to hit the broad side of Karen Newman's brazier with a beach ball...it's TK whose pitiful numbers he's most resembling this year.

...and for those interested...in the "Where are my ex girlfriends now?" category, Sammy is having a nice little season for himself in the wild Canadian abandon, notching 14 points in 18 games (.78). Kopecky continues to stink up the joint with Leino-like tallies at 2 points in 15 games on the banks of Lake Michigan. As for that jet-setting Scuttles? The research staff is a little thin today and couldn't come up with his current numbers at Moscow Dynamo, but I did find with this nifty link, which is just as useful, if not better, than a stat sheet.