First off, Leino isn't a BAD player. He's a 2nd line LWer who can score 50-60 pts. We stuck him in a 3rd/4th line role with no PP time last year. In his limited time this year, he was productive
8 GP, 2 G, 4 A.
He isn't a cancer. He's a guy we overpaid for, forced him to play out of position, when it didn't work out we banished him to scrub minutes and he wasn't happy.
Since we aren't going to be spending up to the cap next year and the amnesty buyout extends to next summer, there really isn't much reason to buy him out this year
Buy out this summer is 10 million
Buy out next summer is 7.33 million.
His salary for next year is 4 million
So, 10 million to buy him out next year and he's a free agent this summer
11.33 million (including his salary) to let him play next year and see if he can thrive in a role that we know he can play once he's healthy.