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Artturi Lehkonen

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Artturi Lehkonen
Lehkonen with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021
Born (1995-07-04) 4 July 1995 (age 29)
Piikkiö, Finland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Colorado Avalanche
TPS
KalPa
Frölunda HC
Montreal Canadiens
National team  Finland
NHL draft 55th overall, 2013
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2011–present

Artturi Aleksanteri Lehkonen (born 4 July 1995) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 55th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, where he spent the first six seasons of his NHL career. Known as a defensively-minded forward, Lehkonen famously scored series-winning overtime goals in two consecutive Stanley Cup semifinals against the Vegas Golden Knights (2021) and Edmonton Oilers (2022). He won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022, scoring the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in game six.

Internationally, Lehkonen has competed for the Finnish men's national team, winning medals at the U18 and U20 world championships.

Playing career

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Lehkonen was born in Piikkiö, but grew up in Turku. He played for TuTo and TPS as a youngster and logged his first minutes in Finland's top-flight Liiga for TPS during the 2011–12 season. He then joined fellow Liiga outfit KalPa prior to the 2012–13 campaign.[1]

On 28 March 2014, Lehkonen opted to leave KalPa of the Finnish Liiga and further his development in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), in signing a two-year contract with Frölunda HC.[2] In his second year in Sweden, the 2015–16 season, he made 49 SHL appearances, tallying 16 goals and 17 assists in the regular season plus 16 games in postseason play with a league-best eleven goals and eight assists en route to claiming the title. The 19 points tallied beat Daniel Alfredsson 2004–05 playoffs performance (18pts) to establish a new team record for most points in a single playoff year. He was also influential in winning the Champions Hockey League that season, chipping in with twelve points (five goals, seven assists) in 13 outings.[3]

Montreal Canadiens

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Lehkonen signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) on 8 May 2016.[4] In his debut season with the team, he scored 18 goals across 73 games, with an additional 10 assists. He would manage 12 goals and 9 assists the following season. On 3 October 2018, Lehkonen scored the Canadiens' first goal of the 2018–19 season in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.[5] He would have a career-best 31 points in the final year of his entry-level contract. On 11 July 2019, the Canadiens re-signed Lehkonen to a two-year, $4.8 million contract extension.[6]

Lehkonen managed only seven goals and six assists during the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season. The Canadiens qualified to the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs in the final wildcard spot, and embarked on an unexpectedly deep run, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets in the first two rounds. On 24 June 2021, Lehkonen scored the series-clinching overtime goal in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals against the Vegas Golden Knights, allowing the Canadiens to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993.[7] Dubbed "the biggest goal for the Canadiens in nearly 30 years," it became a frequent topic of discussion around Lehkonen.[8] Following the team's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Finals, the Canadiens re-signed Lehkonen to a one-year, $2.3 million contract extension.[9]

Following the Finals appearance, the 2021–22 season saw the Canadiens perform historically poorly, resulting in the sacking of longtime general manager Marc Bergevin. At a time when most of the team's roster was judged to be underperforming, Lehkonen's strong defensive play attracted praise, and began to generate speculation that he would be traded as part of a team rebuild.[10][11] Lehkonen when asked joked "he couldn't understand most of the trade talk in Montreal. He doesn't speak French."[8]

Colorado Avalanche

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Lehkonen (left) during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

On 21 March 2022, Lehkonen was traded by the Canadiens to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Justin Barron and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.[12] His debut with the Avalanche was delayed due to visa issues, but he featured in 16 regular season games for the team, tallying a further 6 goals and 3 assists to set new career highs in goals (19) and points (38).[13] The Avalanche finished second in the NHL, and met the Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. After sweeping the Predators in four games, the Avalanche went on to beat the St. Louis Blues in six games in the second round, moving on to the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers. Lehkonen's strong performance with the team through the playoffs attracted praise as one of the best deadline additions of the postseason.[14] In Game 4 of the series, Lehkonen scored the series-clinching goal in overtime to win the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and send his team to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second consecutive year.[15] He became the first player to achieve this feat since Gordie Drillon of the Maple Leafs in 1938 and 1939.[16] Lehkonen scored the series-winning goal in Game 6 of the Cup Finals, noting "I've been on both sides, on the losing side and now on the winning side. It feels great."[17]

International play

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Medal record
Representing Finland Finland
IIHF World U18 Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Russia
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Malmö

Lehkonen made his debut with Finland's men's national team during the 2015–16 Euro Hockey Tour.[18]

Personal life

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Lehkonen's father is Ismo Lehkonen, a former professional hockey player and coach.[19] Ismo has worked for Yle as a hockey commentator, notably being present in Amalie Arena in 2022 to cover his son's victory in the Stanley Cup Finals.[17]

Lehkonen is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.[20]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 TPS FIN U18 20 13 11 24 16 13 8 6 14 4
2010–11 TPS FIN U20 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2011–12 TPS FIN U18 2 2 5 7 0 4 3 4 7 2
2011–12 TPS FIN U20 40 28 26 54 54 — — — — —
2011–12 TPS SM-l 18 2 2 4 8 2 0 0 0 0
2012–13 KalPa SM-l 45 14 16 30 12 4 2 1 3 2
2013–14 KalPa Liiga 33 7 13 20 4 — — — — —
2014–15 Frölunda HC SHL 47 8 8 16 12 13 3 3 6 0
2015–16 Frölunda HC SHL 49 16 17 33 12 16 11 8 19 4
2016–17 Montreal Canadiens NHL 73 18 10 28 8 6 2 2 4 2
2017–18 Montreal Canadiens NHL 66 12 9 21 20 — — — — —
2018–19 Montreal Canadiens NHL 82 11 20 31 32 — — — — —
2019–20 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 13 14 27 24 10 1 3 4 8
2020–21 Montreal Canadiens NHL 47 7 6 13 6 17 3 1 4 4
2021–22 Montreal Canadiens NHL 58 13 16 29 14 — — — — —
2021–22 Colorado Avalanche NHL 16 6 3 9 8 20 8 6 14 20
2022–23 Colorado Avalanche NHL 64 21 30 51 28 7 3 3 6 6
2023–24 Colorado Avalanche NHL 45 16 18 34 14 11 6 5 11 4
Liiga totals 96 23 31 54 24 6 2 1 3 2
SHL totals 96 24 25 49 24 29 14 11 25 4
NHL totals 521 117 126 243 154 71 23 20 43 44

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Finland U17 7th 5 1 1 2 0
2011 Finland IH18 4th 5 2 3 5 4
2012 Finland WJC18 4th 7 7 3 10 6
2013 Finland WJC 7th 6 3 1 4 4
2013 Finland WJC18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 3 6 9 12
2014 Finland WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 2 2 4 2
2015 Finland WJC 7th 5 1 0 1 6
Junior totals 41 19 16 35 34

Awards and honors

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Award Year Ref
SHL
Le Mat Trophy champion 2016 [21]
CHL
Champions 2016 [22]
NHL
Stanley Cup champion 2022 [23]

References

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  1. ^ "Uutiset - Hyökkääjät Antti Kerälä ja Artturi Lehkonen KalPaan kahden vuoden sopimuksilla". www.kalpa.fi. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  2. ^ "World Junior Champion Lehkonen to Frolunda". Frölunda HC. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Statistics | Champions Hockey League". ChampionsHockeyLeague.net. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Canadiens agree to terms on a three-year contract with forward Artturi Lehkonen". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 8 May 2016 – via NHL.com.
  5. ^ Cudzinowski, Matt (4 October 2018). "MTL@TOR: A determined bunch". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 26 October 2018 – via NHL.com.
  6. ^ Cowan, Stu (11 July 2019). "Canadiens sign Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia to two-year contracts". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Canadiens advance to Stanley Cup Final after defeating Golden Knights in Game 6". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  8. ^ a b Baugh, Peter (8 April 2022). "Artturi Lehkonen and the Avalanche are a match decades in the making, from a Hahl jersey to a Rantanen connection". The Athletic. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Canadiens sign Artturi Lehkonen to one-year, $2.3M contract extension". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  10. ^ Yost, Travis (23 December 2021). "Lehkonen putting on a defensive clinic for struggling Habs". TSN.ca. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  11. ^ Basu, Arpon; Godin, Marc Antoine (24 January 2022). "Lehkonen boosts trade value, Canadiens front office candidates, the Logan Mailloux dilemma". The Athletic. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Avs acquire Lehkonen from Canadiens". TSN.ca. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  13. ^ Cowan, Stu (6 June 2022). "Canadiens dealt ahead of deadline thriving with new teams". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  14. ^ Graham, Pat (3 June 2022). "Sakic's late-season deals paying off as Avs lead series 2-0". AP News. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Avalanche sweep Oilers, advance to Stanley Cup Final". Washington Post. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  16. ^ Sportsnet [@SNstats] (7 June 2022). "First player to score series-clinching OT goals in back-to-back seasons to advance to the Stanley Cup Final since Gordie Drillon (Maple Leafs) in the 1938 & 1939 Semi-Finals" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ a b Russo, Michael (27 June 2022). "Trade pickups help Avalanche complete Cup puzzle, cherish 'being part of something special'". The Athletic. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Otteluseuranta: Ruotsi - Suomi 11.02.2016 (Euro Hockey Tour)". Tappara.co. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  19. ^ Cudzinowski, Matt (16 October 2018). "Sincere gratitude". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 10 February 2019 – via NHL.com.
  20. ^ Cudzinowski, Matt; Nechay, Steven (18 August 2018). "Starstruck: Artturi Lehkonen on Bacary Sagna". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 9 February 2019 – via NHL.com.
  21. ^ "Frolunda Swedish champions for 2015/16" (in Swedish). norran.se. 24 April 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  22. ^ Hampson, Oliver (9 February 2016). "Frolunda Gothenburg wins the 2015-16 Champions Hockey League Final". Hooked on Hockey Magazine. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  23. ^ Shilton, Kristen (26 June 2022). "Colorado Avalanche win first Stanley Cup since 2001 with Game 6 comeback". ESPN.com. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
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