Confirmed with Link: Artturi Lehkonen to Avs for Justin Barron and 2024 2nd

[cinchronicity]

Bura is/was technically in the top 6 too and he's gone.

Sounds like Bednar wants Lehkonen on the 2nd line going forward, so that's probably the Bura replacement right there.

We'll need a damn good 2C to replace Kadri though. Won't be easy to find.

Should some of the goalie calculus include an attempt to keep Kadri? For example, if Fleury took a deep discount for one more cup, that might be a savings of $3M over what Kuemper is likely to demand. Go with Fleury / Franky as a 1a / 1b and hope that the quality of a legit 2C outweighs merely average goaltending. A similar possibility is Husso, who'll get a raise but not into Kuemperland. Or perhaps Campbell? If DK wants $5M or more, any of these guys could be a $3M savings.

The Avs are measurably worse without Kadri. JTC is not the answer. Newhook - at least at this point - is not the answer. Surely the Rangers sign Copp. No other UFA tickles my fancy. The Avs have very few trade assets left. Kadri might give the Avs a slight discount. If Sakic can save some $ by sacrificing some quality in goal, is it worth it?

 

[cinchronicity]

Having Lehkonen and Nichushkin on the same team just isn’t fair to an opponent.

Plus, to a lesser extent, LOC. He doesn't have the O-Zone chops of the other two, but he is one hell of a pest. But with these 3 guys on lines 1,2 and 4, there is never peace for the Dmen trying to get the puck out of their zone. One thing that struck me tonight is that the AVS had a ton of unexpected O-Zone faceoffs. And much less icing than in the previous 3 games. Do the Oilers were facing these three relentless guys all night. It is an embarrassment of riches.

 

[RC51]

to all the Av fans that posted against the Lehkonen trade stating he is a nobody and not worth anything close to what you paid to land him. I do bevieve " CROW " is the meal of the day.

 

[karhukissa]

Lehkonen is a very good player but don't get hyped too much guys. He tends to perform much better in playoffs and in important games. He never was able to sustain that level of play for 82 games in Montreal. He's a little bit like Lars Eller. A guy who will give you 15 goals and 25-35 points in the regular season and will help you a lot in playoffs with his forecheck and grinding while being more than decent defensively.

Maybe he has another gear but i would wait for him to prove it for 82 games before getting too excited. Can he work on a 2nd line for 82 games? If he plays with Kadri and either Rantanen or Nuke yes he can. But finding a Kadri replacement or signing Kadri this summer for it to work next season wont be easy. He's a good insurance policy in case you lose one of Nuke or Bura to be able to sign Kadri this summer though.

Good trade for both teams imo.

Team like Avs doesn't need him to score a lot of points during regular season. As long as he's solid defensively and scores here and there it's all good. They have guys who can take care of scoring.

But he's built for playoffs hockey, his charachter is something else. Shy guy but when it truly matters he finds some fast&furious boost mode and does everything on the ice. After all, playoffs is the time that truly matters.

It has a lot to do with his dad, former Liiga coach. Basically he left hockey talk mostly to Lehky's coaches, but mentally he really coached him and he had few important thesis he always said to his son. For example that never ever cheat defensively or you'll never be an NHL player.

 

[dmac7719]

to all the Av fans that posted against the Lehkonen trade stating he is a nobody and not worth anything close to what you paid to land him. I do bevieve " CROW " is the meal of the day.

I'm actually interested in what posts you are referencing here. Lekh was a target for many a fan on this board for the majority of the year, especially when it became obvious early in the season when Montreal was heading towards selling at the deadline. There were just some people that thought what was sent was a little too much, but it's become apparent that it wasn't.

 

[Islay1989]

to all the Av fans that posted against the Lehkonen trade stating he is a nobody and not worth anything close to what you paid to land him. I do bevieve " CROW " is the meal of the day.

I too like to make stuff up

 

[FinPanda]

Karri Kivi joutui nuoren Artturi Lehkosen kanssa mahdottoman valinnan eteen – ratkaisu jäi suomalaiseen kiekkohistoriaan

Colorado Avalanchen Stanley Cupin finaaleihin ampunut Artturi Lehkonen osoitti uskomatonta taisteluhenkeä jo vuosia sitten.

www.is.fi

Nice article about Lehkonen when he played at the 2014 WJC's. Karri Kivi (our head coach at that tournament) said he was so broken at the final games that he needed to be moved with a shopping cart. He had ligament injury during the final so he played with it numb.

He was barely able to play in the 3rd period against Canada in semifinal because he could barely move, so he played a few shifts just because he has such a good hockey IQ. Then for the final he let Artturi choose if he wanted to play, because the coach Kivi said his parents were going to punch him to the nose if he took him off the lineup.

"Artturi has always been a fighter. He didn't go to Colorado by accident. They knew what kind of player they're getting. He is the perfect kind of playoff player because he never complains and scores important goals". - Kivi

I didn't translate everything on the article, but a few things. If some other Finn wants to translate more, sure do it.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Lehkonen went from Stanley Cup final -> dead last -> back to Stanley Cup final, all within 11 months. What a legend.

Emotional roller coaster

 

[MarkT]

(I'll go with the current theme of the thread) Habs fan here (seriously, I'm also a Habs fan). Lehky was always one of my favourites. I loved when they put him with Danault and pretty much guaranteed the other team wouldn't score. I also got so frustrated when he got stuck on the 4th line. I was so happy when it was clear Bednar was giving him long looks in the top 6. It's definitely where he belongs. Just like Nuke he makes every line he's on better both offensively and defensively. And the crazy thing is, I haven't even seen him be consistently the elite forechecker he was in Montreal. As good as he's been, he has another level in that regard. I expect next season when he knows the system better he'll emerge as head and shoulders the best forechecker on the team.

 

[flyfysher]

to all the Av fans that posted against the Lehkonen trade stating he is a nobody and not worth anything close to what you paid to land him. I do bevieve " CROW " is the meal of the day.

Yum!

 

[ahmedou]

BETTER CALL WEHKONEN

 

[jonlin]

Lock him up. 6x 3,5-4M

 

[karhukissa]

Lock him up. 6x 3,5-4M

And he'd be worth that amount even if he only played during playoffs. He scored million dollar goal last night and it wasn't a fluke.

 

[John Mandalorian]

And he'd be worth that amount even if he only played during playoffs. He scored million dollar goal last night and it wasn't a fluke.

Is that your drivers license/identification photo? Do they make you take your shirts off for that?

 

[Deebs]

It's so awesome to see our boy Lehky go over to you guys and continue his clutchness lol. Win that cup

 

[karhukissa]

Is that your drivers license/identification photo? Do they make you take your shirts off for that?

I wish. He's legendary Finnish coach during his even more legendary interview taken after sauna.

 

[The Merchant]

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Lock him up. 6x 3,5-4M

I wonder if Lehkonen will take a long-term deal next summer or gamble..

To be honest, if I was him and I'd knew I will be playing with Rantanen/whoever, I am not taking a deal. He can do better point wise and probably put up more points. (I think that would be the smart thing to do financially)

It's a risk but he could make way more money.

Btw, we should definitely offer him that six year deal. If you believe in him, you have to do it now, while the price hasn't totally skyrocketed.. like Kadri.

 

[DJyellow]

I don't usually cheer for former Habs player when they move on to a different team. But, I'm very happy for Lehkonen and the Avs. I do wish for Avs to win the cup this year!

 

[AllAboutAvs]

What a trade, Joe!!!! And this is coming from a guy that likes Barron a lot.

I really hope this will be a great trade for both teams.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

Go Lehkonen! Go Avs for the Cup!!

 

[CanadienShark]

You guys must be pretty happy with Lehkonen, right? The guy is a gamer. Perfect addition to a cup contender. Glad to see him do well. I have no issues with the Avs winning the cup, so best of luck in the finals.

 

[Whitesnake]

Huge fan of Lehky when he was with us. It just makes so much sense to finally give him to a team who is where they are at, which is your team...near the Cup. The kid will play his heart out everytime. When he was with us, and people were shitting on him missing nets, I was still defending him and often was calling him in the top 5 players the most difficult to play against. In the whole league. The guy is in your face every freakin chance he has. If there is one guy who you should NEVER hesitate to give a long term contract it's him. Long term. Less figures. He will never sit on his contract.

I am so happy for him. And happy for your team too. I'm in Montreal, I'm not that young, so my 2nd favorite player of all-time was Joe Sakic. So I'm rooting for the Avs big time this year. Take care of Lehky like he's taking good care of all of you! Go Avs!

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

to all the Av fans that posted against the Lehkonen trade stating he is a nobody and not worth anything close to what you paid to land him. I do bevieve " CROW " is the meal of the day.

LOL what? If you're gonna come onto our board with ridiculous accusations like such you damn well better provide the evidence....

 

[lionsDen]

to all the Av fans that posted against the Lehkonen trade stating he is a nobody and not worth anything close to what you paid to land him. I do bevieve " CROW " is the meal of

Silly post. I don’t get reactions like this. Like seriously why?