Artturi Lehkonen | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() Lehkonen with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021 | |||
Born | Piikkiö, Finland | 4 July 1995||
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 | ![]() | ||
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.
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]
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]
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]
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing ![]() | ||
IIHF World U18 Championships | ||
![]() | 2013 Russia | |
World Junior Championships | ||
![]() | 2014 Malmö |
Lehkonen made his debut with Finland's men's national team during the 2015–16 Euro Hockey Tour. [18]
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]
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 |
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 | ![]() | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | |
2014 | Finland | WJC | ![]() | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
2015 | Finland | WJC | 7th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
Junior totals | 41 | 19 | 16 | 35 | 34 |
Award | Year | Ref |
---|---|---|
SHL | ||
Le Mat Trophy champion | 2016 | [21] |
CHL | ||
Champions | 2016 | [22] |
NHL | ||
Stanley Cup champion | 2022 | [23] |
Michael Glen Wayne Ryder is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, and New Jersey Devils.
The 1969–70 NHL season was the 53rd season of the National Hockey League. For the third straight season, the St. Louis Blues reached the Stanley Cup Finals, and for the third straight year, the winners of the expansion West Division were swept four games to none. This time, however, it was at the hands of the Boston Bruins, as the defending champions Montreal Canadiens narrowly missed the playoffs, something that did not happen again for the next quarter century. With both the Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs missing the 1970 Stanley Cup playoffs, it was the first time in league history that no Canadian team in the NHL qualified for the playoffs. It was also the final season that teams wore their colored jerseys at home until the 2003–04 season.
Maxim Lapierre is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), he was selected in the second round, 61st overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He spent parts of his first three professional seasons with the Canadiens' minor league affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL), before playing his first full NHL season in 2008–09.
Joseph Jean-François Vinet Beauchemin is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted in the third round, 75th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, he spent most of his career playing for the Anaheim Ducks, winning a Stanley Cup in 2007.
Lars Fosgaard Eller is a Danish professional ice hockey player for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "the Tiger", he was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the first round, 13th overall, in the 2007 NHL entry draft. Eller made his NHL debut in 2009 with the Blues and was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in 2010, where he played six seasons, before being traded to the Capitals in 2016. He became the first person from Denmark to win the Stanley Cup when the Capitals won in 2018, scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal. After a brief stint with the Colorado Avalanche, Eller joined the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023, becoming the first Danish player to play in 1,000 NHL games, before being traded back to the Capitals in 2024. Internationally, Eller has played for the Danish national team at both the junior and senior level, including at five World Championships.
Mikkel Bødker is a Danish former professional ice hockey right winger. He was selected eighth overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest-ever drafted Danish player. He also featured on the cover of the video game NHL 10 in Denmark and Norway.
Tomáš Tatar is a Slovak professional ice hockey left winger for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tatar was drafted 60th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 NHL entry draft.
Ben Chiarot is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fourth round, 120th overall, by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Chiarot has previously played for the Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers.
Brendan Gallagher is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger and alternate captain for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 147th overall, by the Canadiens in the 2010 NHL entry draft.
Tyler Toffoli is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2010 NHL entry draft and won the Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2014. Since his trade from the Kings in 2020, Toffoli has also played for the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Vancouver Canucks.
Mark Barberio is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for Severstal Cherepovets of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Barberio was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round, 152nd overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Jonathan Drouin is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). After a stellar 2012–13 season with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)'s Halifax Mooseheads, in which he was named CHL Player of the Year and won the Memorial Cup, Drouin was selected in the first round, third overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2013 NHL entry draft. On June 15, 2017, Drouin was traded to the Montreal Canadiens where he played a total of six seasons, before signing with the Avalanche as a free agent on July 1, 2023.
Brett Kulak is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fourth round, 105th overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Kulak has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens.
Ismo Lehkonen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the TUTO Hockey in the Finnish Mestis. His son Artturi Lehkonen is a professional hockey player for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League.
Nicholas Suzuki is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 13th overall, by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL entry draft.
Alex Newhook is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 16th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL entry draft and won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022, becoming the third player from Newfoundland and Labrador to do so, following Daniel Cleary (2008) and Michael Ryder (2011).
Justin Barron is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 25th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2020 NHL entry draft. Barron has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens.
Ross Colton is an American professional ice hockey center for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The 2021 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2020–21 season and the culmination of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. The series was between the Montreal Canadiens and the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning won the best-of-seven series, four games to one, for their second consecutive and the third overall championship in franchise history. Tampa Bay had home-ice advantage in the series with the better regular season record.
The 2022 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2021–22 season and the culmination of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. The series was between the Eastern Conference and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the Western Conference champion Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche defeated the Lightning in six games for their third Stanley Cup championship in franchise history and first since 2001. Colorado had home ice advantage in the series with the better regular season record.