Flyers winger Porter Martone is averaging five shots a game, has a game-winning overtime goal to his credit, and two assists. The Flyers are 2-2-0 since he’s entered the lineup, and find themselves (for the time being) sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division. The NCAA Frozen Four — where Martone was generally considered to be headed along with his Michigan State Spartan teammates — is still three days away in Las Vegas. Martone shouldn’t be here, yet here he is. However, as big of a splash he’s made in under a week, he might not be the first Flyer to make such an impact on a club this late into the season.
The Flyers haven’t made a lot of noise regarding playoff aspirations in the last number of years. Nor have they played a home playoff game this decade. Thus, there aren’t a lot of players the Flyers acquired at the deadline (or who arrived via the NCAA) who have made the impact Martone has. One has to go back to the last Flyers deep run at a Stanley Cup to determine who gave Philadelphia that little extra oomph to propel them along into the post-season. That player is none other than Ville Leino.
The only other contender to Porter Martone’s Flyers arrival
Ville Leino was an undrafted Finnish forward who caught the eye of the Detroit Red Wings back in 2008. The team signed him to a one-year contract but he spent most of the 2008-09 season in the American Hockey League. In the 13 games he played for Detroit he scored five goals and had four helpers. It looked promising for Leino heading into 2009-10 as he inked another one-year deal. But that’s where things went pear-shaped in the Motor City. The winger ended up playing just over half a season with the Red Wings, but ended up with fewer goals (four) and assists (three) over that stretch than he did in the 13 games the previous season.
So, when the 2010 trade deadline approached, Detroit found a partner in Philadelphia. Philadelphia dealt defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a fifth-round pick in 2011 in return for Leino. He played 13 games for the Flyers the rest of that season, scoring twice and having two helpers. However, Leino wasn’t dressed for the Flyers on April 11, 2010 when Philadelphia hosted the Rangers in a winner-take-all contest. The teams went to a shootout to decide who would get the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Claude Giroux scored on the Flyers third shot, and Olle Jokinen was stopped by Brian Boucher, sending the Flyers into the playoffs.
Ville Leino was late to the party
What makes Leino’s playoff performance so remarkable in hindsight was he didn’t play in four of the five games against the New Jersey Devils in the opening round. It was only when winger Jeff Carter couldn’t play in the fifth game against the Devils (with the Flyers up three games to one) that Peter Laviolette decided to put Leino in. He didn’t register a point in the fifth game, a 3-0 win that wrapped up their opening round. But he remained in the lineup for the second round series against Boston. And that’s where the magic happened. After losing in overtime in game one (and playing over 25 minutes) and not getting a point, Leino got a pair of assists in a 3-2 loss to Boston in game two, earning a primary assist on a Mike Richards tally and a secondary assist on a Daniel Briere goal.
From then on, and for whatever reason, the trio of Leino, Briere, and Scott Hartnell caught lightning in a bottle the rest of the Boston series. Leino had a goal in the series-changing game four Philadelphia won in overtime. He scored again in game five (to go with an assist) and had two helpers in the series-clinching game seven. Against Montreal he had three more assists in a rather quick five-game series win for the Flyers which put them in the Stanley Cup Finals. Leino had five more points in that series (two goals, three assists). The Flyers fell short of the goal, but Leino ended up with 21 points in 19 playoff games.
Although not the traditional rookie age (26) for the National Hockey League, Leino is co-owner of the NHL record for most points by a rookie in the Stanley Cup playoffs with 21 but owns the record outright for most assists by a rookie in the finals (six) and most assists by a rookie (14).
Aftermath
We don’t expect the Porter Martone narrative to follow that of Leino. The following season whatever magic he possessed in the playoffs was absent. His numbers were decent (19 goals, 34 assists) in 81 games, but a second-round loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champs in Boston was the end of the road for Leino in Philadelphia. He became a free agent and was signed by Buffalo to the rather largesse amount of $27 million over six seasons. In 137 games over three seasons with the Sabres, Leino had just 10 goals and 36 assists for 46 points as Buffalo missed the playoffs three consecutive years. After putting him through waivers in order to use one of their compliance buyouts, Leino’s NHL career was done. A tryout with Boston for 2014-15 quickly ended in training camp. He returned to Europe to play three more seasons in different leagues before retiring in 2017.
Is Martone the next Leino?
We certainly hope so (and hope not). If Martone can somehow help the Flyers get into the playoffs it would be a coup of sorts considering his expected timeline for joining the club as late as a few weeks ago. A first-round series that went six or seven games would be icing on the cake as it would see a few home games. A first-round win? Well, who the heck knows what would happen! Martone has a skillset that is far deeper and much more developed than Leino’s ever was. And we doubt Briere will be able to convince him to sign a six-year deal worth $27 million after his entry-level deal runs out. However, if Leino’s 2010 playoff run is any kind of precedent for what’s to come, most suspect Martone will be up for the challenge.
We suspect Martone will also not just have one lengthy playoff run in him then flame out the next season. It’s apparent he’s a different breed. And one that might help take the Flyers a bit deeper a lot sooner than anyone could’ve anticipated.
Statistics courtesy of HockeyDB.com and ESPN
