Artturi Lehkonen

BIOGRAPHY

Artturi Lehtonen was born July 4, 1995, in Piikkio, Finland. He is a left wing in the National Hockey League.

Lehkonen signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) on 8 May 2016. 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. 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.

Lehkonen managed only 7 goals and 6 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 Final for the first time since 1993. Dubbed "the biggest goal for the Canadiens in nearly 30 years," it became a frequent topic of discussion around Lehkonen. 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.

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. Lehkonen when asked joked "he couldn't understand most of the trade talk in Montreal. He doesn't speak French."

On March 21, 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. 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). 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. 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. He became the first player to achieve this feat since Gordie Drillon of the Maple Leafs in 1938 and 1939. 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.