Ville Leino invited to training camp by Boston Bruins

Ville Leino’s six-year, $27 million contract would have three more seasons remaining had he not been bought out by the Sabres in June. In three seasons in Buffalo, he recorded 46 points in 137 games. In his contract year in Philadelphia prior moving to western New York, he scored 19 and posted 53 points. So, yeah, he was a bit of a disappoinment.

Having gone unsigned over the summer, Leino is getting an opportunity to get his NHL career back on track. Speaking with the media on Friday morning, Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli revealed that the team has invited Leino to training camp.

Last month, Simon Gagne was also given a camp invite.

Despite all the ribbing about his production compared to the contract, the 30-year old Leino could serve a bottom-line purpose for a team, especially one like the Bruins who could use a few cheap veterans as they maneuver through their current cap situation. (Leino, by the way, will be a member of the Sabres’ payroll until the end of the 2019-20 season.)

Speaking of Boston's cap situation, Chiarelli added that he wants to re-sign current restricted free agents Torey Krug and Reilly Smith. The Bruins are currently over the salary cap, so there will need to be some bodies moving out of Beantown in order to get under the ceiling before the season begins in a month.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy