Among the most coveted KHL free agents this season was Mikko Lehtonen, who dominated the league in his first season with Jokerit to the tune of 49 points in 60 games. Lehtonen has made a decision on where his career will continue, signing a one-year entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 26-year old defenseman has been widely seen as a potential NHL option for the last few years, especially following his outstanding performance at the 2019 World Championship where he helped Finland take home the gold medal. His single season in the KHL cemented him as one of the best defensemen playing outside the NHL, though he’ll still have to prove it on North American ice.
For the Maple Leafs, going after a player like Lehtonen was a no-brainer given their situation on defense going into next season. Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie are both unrestricted free agents, while a stagnant salary cap will not leave them with much room to add any high-priced talent.
Obviously though, adding another left-handed defenseman isn’t an ideal situation for the Maple Leafs, who have a lopsided depth chart on the back end. If Barrie and Ceci both depart, it would leave Justin Holl as the only established right-handed option on the team. Young prospect Timothy Liljegren is expected to compete for a full-time role, but there will have to be players spending time on their off-side next season.
Bob McKenzie of TSN notes that Lehtonen does have some experience playing on the right, though suggests Travis Dermott would be the most likely candidate to move over.
My guess is this makes Dermott expendable. He will be a RFA after this season and his rights can be traded. With Rielly, Muzzin, Sandin, Dermott, Marincin and Rosen as LHD options and only Holl and Liljegren at RHD there is a glaring need on the right side.
Ah I love how all these details get added after I post lol
@cjmask – That’s the magic of Gavin’s digital pen!
How many Lehtonen’s are running around? I remember the two goalies, this guy, and I think maybe a few other.
everywhere I look, I seem to encounter yet another Vince McMahon so I wouldn’t sweat too much about how many Lehtonens play hockey. Funny thing about names, they tend to get passed around from generation to generation, populating the earth with so many common names.
where is the cap space?
Its an entry level deal, and they are dropping Ceci and Barrie’s money.pretty sure they can take on the 750k or whatever from the millions coming off.
Well Holl and Engvall have raises along with muzzin. Also article from the other day said Lehtonen is able to get performance bonuses so who knows what the actual contract is
When hockey is up and running, back to as normal as it will ever get, the NHL will be a drastically different league. Other than the CFL, no other league depends on bums in the seats for cash. No bums, no cash, salary cap plummets…….
@dalrob – That’s what we were led to believe, early on, with a severely reduced cap. Now, they are trying to disguise it as keeping a flat cap for 2-3 years (hopefully no more), but the dirty secret not being talked about in a louder voice is the players getting the snot escrowed out of them. Somewhere along the way, there might be considerable “Robbing of Peter to Pay Paul”… I hope for their image’s sake they don’t get stupid and demand a taxpayer bailout. That could do irreparable damage to the brand.
If the season does restart will he be able to play right away
To be eligible for postseason play he would have had to sign before December somethingth. Like Jesse P from the Oilers.
no. the contract doesn’t kick in till next nhl season.
Cool thank you both
That’s the missing piece. Time to publish the parade route.