Confirmed with Link: Artturi Lehkonen (50% Retained) Traded to Colorado for a 2024 2nd Round Pick & Justin Barron

[GrandBison]

Good for Lehky to play well with the Avs. I don't think he's breaking out right now, he's just having a good year and given how bad our cap situation is and the abundance of wingers, he had to go.

At the beginning of the year, everybody had him on the fourth line. Now that he's doing exactly what he did in the playoffs last year with us, people are suddenly in love with him. Getting a potential top 4 RD for a good third line winger is exactly what Hugues had to do at the deadline.

 

[NORiculous]

Previously said Lehkonen could be a Bergeron type player and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to keep him.

I got shelled for saying that.

Oh look, he plays on the 2nd PP and in the top 6 in one of the best teams in the league. Oh look, people now starting to think he can score 30 goals.

 

[Treb]

I wouldn’t have traded him. Might end up being a mistake from KH imo. Lehkonens are so hard to find imo. I wish we kept him. I like Barron, but I’m not super crazy about him.

Didn't quite fit the age of the rebuild and I'm not sure he would have signed a team-friendly long term deal this summer.

Would not have been surprised if he would have signed for one year and then bolted for his big paycheck.

 

[MTL-rules]

Previously said Lehkonen could be a Bergeron type player and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to keep him.

I got shelled for saying that.

Oh look, he plays on the 2nd PP and in the top 6 in one of the best teams in the league. Oh look, people now starting to think he can score 30 goals.

And deservely so, he's nothing like Bergeron.

But he could be a potential top 6 winger with great work ethic.

It's a win-win for both teams.

 

[Milhouse40]

I wouldn’t have traded him. Might end up being a mistake from KH imo. Lehkonens are so hard to find imo. I wish we kept him. I like Barron, but I’m not super crazy about him.

Well...let's say we would have kept him, now he need a contract and the Habs don't have any money to sign him thanks to Bergevin giving away all the money to guys like Armia, Byron, Hoffman and whatnot.

And if Barron becomes a top 4, then it's a win even without that 2nd round pick.
I like Lehkonen but a top 4 D is worth more than a middle 6 winger.

 

[dinodebino]

He was traded because he had value and WAS tradeable. This forum needs to stop falling in love with players. That’s what 10 years of a Bergevin reign does to a fan base.

They need to shed cash. Trading other assets like Drouin and Hoffman was a non issue, tough to find suitors. Probably impossible in this context.

Toffoli and Lekhonen were easy preys.

If Barron becomes a top 4, it’s a uber win. Finding good top-4 at the blue line is not as easy as people think.

I liked Lekhonen. He scored the most important goal of the last 25 years for this franchise. Fête Nationale was the most memorable in decades because of him.

But he was an asset that had value and couldn’t fit in the future financial strcture.

 

[Lshap]

Previously said Lehkonen could be a Bergeron type player and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to keep him.

I got shelled for saying that.

Oh look, he plays on the 2nd PP and in the top 6 in one of the best teams in the league. Oh look, people now starting to think he can score 30 goals.

Lehkonen won't score 30, but he'll see a nice bump in his production playing on a powerhouse like the Avs.

I absolutely knew Lehks would step up in the playoffs – he always has. Both teams got what they needed.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Previously said Lehkonen could be a Bergeron type player and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to keep him.

I got shelled for saying that.

Oh look, he plays on the 2nd PP and in the top 6 in one of the best teams in the league. Oh look, people now starting to think he can score 30 goals.

It doesn’t matter though. His prime would be wasted here. It’s not that he isn’t a useful player, it’s about direction.

Barron’s prime is five years from now. It makes way more sense to trade for him than keep Leky here and waste him.

 

[Ararana]

Avs fan coming in peace, I was apprehensive at fist on this trade because I was super high on Barron as a stud middle pairing guy but Sakic has proved me wrong yet again. Whatever you guys did with this kid it worked, he's amazing.

I hope both fanbases end up loving this trade. I'll always be a fan of Barron but we needed Lehkonen now and couldn't wait for Barron to develop.

 

[Wats]

Previously said Lehkonen could be a Bergeron type player and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to keep him.

I got shelled for saying that.

Oh look, he plays on the 2nd PP and in the top 6 in one of the best teams in the league. Oh look, people now starting to think he can score 30 goals.

Why pay another 3rd liner ~4M until he's 30s when the team is literally the worst in the NHL? He was never going to fit in with the team's window. Habs already have Anderson/Gallagher/Armia taking up 15.5M for next 3+ years. You really believe having Lehkonen added to them will be good for this roster? Barron might bust but at least he gives you a shot at having a top 4 RD in maybe 2-3 years when Wright/Caufield are fully adjusted.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

Lehkonen should've been the guy locked up long-term instead of Gallagher/Armia. Instead, Bergevin decided to pay for prior contributions instead of focusing on how these guys would have helped the team in future years.

For HuGo, given the current state of the roster, it was the right move to deal him as opposed to hold on and re-sign him.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Previously said Lehkonen could be a Bergeron type player and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to keep him.

I got shelled for saying that.

Oh look, he plays on the 2nd PP and in the top 6 in one of the best teams in the league. Oh look, people now starting to think he can score 30 goals.

A lot of Habs fans are guilty of targeting guys like Lehkonen and ignoring talent needs to play with talent. Same treatment on Anderson right now. Imagine how Anderson would look playing with the Avs or other teams with deeper talent (especially up the middle)?

 

[Habs Halifax]

Lehkonen should've been the guy locked up long-term instead of Gallagher/Armia. Instead, Bergevin decided to pay for prior contributions instead of focusing on how these guys would have helped the team in future years.

For HuGo, given the current state of the roster, it was the right move to deal him as opposed to hold on and re-sign him.

Sucks to see Lehkonen and Danault on other teams but it's for the best cause we are in rebuild mode and by the time we exit that, they are both in 30+ years. And with them, they hurt the rebuild and draft position.

Bergevin tried and we got a cup finals run due to Covid circumstantial luck. Then he tripped again and we got our management and rebuild that we wanted.

Armia contract won't hurt us and it's not as hard to move as some thing. Gallagher on the other hand is an issue and even with some rebound, he will still be overpaid. I don't think this hurts us as much as some think it will. Cap will grow and we don't have to give much raises to young players other than Caufield and Romanov. Others will take a while to get paid and get past their ELC. By that time, Gallagher has 2 or less years left.

 

[Habaneros]

Leky is working himself into a payday ...I would say 6-6.5 million a year right now.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Avs fan coming in peace, I was apprehensive at fist on this trade because I was super high on Barron as a stud middle pairing guy but Sakic has proved me wrong yet again. Whatever you guys did with this kid it worked, he's amazing.

I hope both fanbases end up loving this trade. I'll always be a fan of Barron but we needed Lehkonen now and couldn't wait for Barron to develop.

Lots of Habs fans with different opinions on HF boards but when you sum up all the comments, you get the truth. Lehkonen is a darn good 200' energy guy who has very good all around game. Shows up each and every shift.

Think of the centers and talent that Lehkonen has played with in his time with the Habs. He was constantly bounced all over the line-up and if anybody tried to evaluate his game by looking at points, they don't know squat about the player.

Good trade from both sides. Both teams got a player of need for their timing of direction

Leky is working himself into a payday ...I would say 6-6.5 million a year right now.

Doubt it will go that high but he will get a raise for sure. Maybe his agent plays hard ball on a long term deal and the Avs have to settle on a 3 year deal instead. Hard to guess.

He's probably going to get a 4 or 5 year deal around $4M - $5M range. That's my guess

 

[Wats]

Lots of Habs fans with different opinions on HF boards but when you sum up all the comments, you get the truth. Lehkonen is a darn good 200' energy guy who has very good all around game. Shows up each and every shift.

Think of the centers and talent that Lehkonen has played with in his time with the Habs. He was constantly bounced all over the line-up and if anybody tried to evaluate his game by looking at points, they don't know squat about the player.

Good trade from both sides. Both teams got a player of need for their timing of direction

Successful teams get the skill guys first and then add the 'darn good 200' energy' after. See Tampa/Avs/Rangers. Oilers too I guess but it's hard to ever use them as an example since no other team will get a Hart trophy McDavid/Draisaitl duo.

Guys like Anderson are good. He's just a waste for the worst team in the NHL. His value is lost by keeping him during a rebuild until his body breaks down like Gallagher. Montreal's future is based around this 1st overall pick. Realistically he won't be good until 2-3 years. By that time, Lehkonen/Anderson/Byron/etc are unlikely to be worth their caphit and the 1st overall pick will be needing a raise. The window doesn't work to keep the middling support guys that are ~30 like Anderson/Byron/etc. Granted this is assuming they have trade value.

It should be in the management's job to scout out the replace depth guys. Maybe that's what they are doing with Heineman, who knows.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Successful teams get the skill guys first and then add the 'darn good 200' energy' after. See Tampa/Avs/Rangers. Oilers too I guess but it's hard to ever use them as an example since no other team will get a Hart trophy McDavid/Draisaitl duo.

Successful teams get pieces in all areas at different times. When you got top end talent, it's easier to fit in guys like Lehkonen and Coleman when the timing is right yeah.

But that's not my point. The point was some fans looking at Lehkonen's stats and thinking they know his value. Totally ignoring things beyond points and how team talent affects points. Same BS being thrown at Anderson at the moment.... a points approach and it's comical when you see "get rid of Anderson" narratives.

 

[GrandBison]

Leky is working himself into a payday ...I would say 6-6.5 million a year right now.

Who's the comparison? KK?

 

[abo9]

Previously said Lehkonen could be a Bergeron type player and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to keep him.

I got shelled for saying that.

Oh look, he plays on the 2nd PP and in the top 6 in one of the best teams in the league. Oh look, people now starting to think he can score 30 goals.

I mean, I saw a lot of people on here talking about him "having another notch" for YEARS, holding onto the 18 goals he scored as a 21 years old.

He always comes out with a shot or two out of nowhere where you think "If he did that consistently... how good could he be?", but then the next game he muffin-shots it into the goalie's chest.

Keeping in mind that he was probably following the lead of other muffin shot guys like Gallagher, Plekanec, Danault and also was coached by muffin-shot and dump-and-chase coaches.

But surely, playing in the Avs top 6 probably makes his life MUCH easier than in Montreal. If he was missing one or two adjustments to his shot to be consistently dangerous, I bet guys like MacKinnon, Landeskog, Rantanen are much better examples to follow than Gallagher or anyone else on the Habs (no offense to Gallagher, but his shot is weak).

I'm still very happy with the trade. With Weber LTIR and Petry aging, I'm glad to see a NHL or near-NHL ready young D stepping in.

 

[Andy]

Lekhonen's style of play and talent best serves teams that are competitive and going for a cup. Keeping him on a rebuilding team is wasting an asset.

 

[26Mats]

Lekhonen's style of play and talent best serves teams that are competitive and going for a cup. Keeping him on a rebuilding team is wasting an asset.

Plus I look forward to seeing how good Ylonen, Pitlick, Heineman, Mysak, etc... will be on the 3rd line...

And now we need to play Byron and Armia and hopefully get their trade value up.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

I will say something that is very obvious now but everybody last year were so clueless and kept pilling on them at some point.

You will win playoff games with players like Danault, Lehkonen. People assumed that finding good defensive players are easily replceable. They are not.

We made it to the final with a simple recipe (and without star players upfront). Hard nosed, balanced defensemen, hard-working two way forwards and solid goaltending.

I also remember people being very harsh on Lars Eller (who was very useful in a diminished role). I think we have a tendency to underrate our bottom players.

IMO the most overrated player in recent memory is Toffoli. I am very glad about what Hughes got for him.

 

[26Mats]

I will say something that is very obvious now but everybody last year were so clueless and kept pilling on them at some point.

You will win playoff games with players like Danault, Lehkonen. People assumed that finding good defensive players are easily replceable. They are not.

We made it to the final with a simple recipe (and without star players upfront). Hard nosed, balanced defensemen, hard-working two way forwards and solid goaltending.

I also remember people being very harsh on Lars Eller (who was very useful in a diminished role). I think we have a tendency to underrate our bottom players.

IMO the most overrated player in recent memory is Toffoli. I am very glad about what Hughes got for him.

So we went to the finals the year Toffoli arrived, but Toffoli had nothing to do with it. That we went to the finals proves it was because of the grinders that had been here many years but didn't do squat before the reinforcements like Toffoli arrived the offseason before we went to the finals.

Is that your argument?

 

[LaP]

Plus I look forward to seeing how good Ylonen, Pitlick, Heineman, Mysak, etc... will be on the 3rd line...

And now we need to play Byron and Armia and hopefully get their trade value up.

They did it this year. They played Lehkonen and Chiarot a lot before they traded them. No reason to think they wont do the same with Byron and Drouin next season. There's 3 years remaining on Armia deal so not sure it's a guy you trade at the deadline instead of the summer.

 

[xX SEYF Xx]

why can't we be at peace with it?
I myself am very happy for Lehky, he always been a great player for us on and off the ice
excellent 2 way F,
PK specialist,
had his share in offensive production occasionally
scored the goal that triggered one of the happiest moments of my habs fan career

was nothing of a revelation his tenure with COL,
that's the Lehky we know, he's playing with a much better team now that's all, I bet Hoffman will look good on that team

we got a fair return for him, everyone should be happy