One of the most intriguing defensemen has come off the board and the Vegas Golden Knights might regret not being the team to strike gold.
It was announced today that stud blueliner Mikko Lehtonen signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, thus robbing the Vegas Golden Knights of the chance to significantly bolster their roster.
Granted, it was never reported that the Golden Knights were one of the bevy of teams chasing Lehtonen’s signature, but they should have been.
Regarded by many as the top defenseman playing in Europe this season and the jewell of the European free agency period, Lehtonen was being pursued by a plethora of NHL teams and it is the Leafs who ultimately won out.
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On a sidenote, however, this particular signing doesn’t seem to make sense for the Maple Leafs who already boast a boatload of offensive defenseman with a stay-at-home blueliner seemingly more of a priority for them this off-season.
Anyway, we digress.
Back to what really matters and Lehtonen’s stock has risen dramatically over the last few years, culminating this season when the left-shot recorded 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists) in 60 games for Jokerit in the KHL with a +26 rating.
As a result, Lehtonen emerged as the best defenseman in the KHL while he finished sixth overall in league scoring, which is pretty impressive.
To hammer home just how outstanding the 26-year-old was in 2019-20, he was named to the KHL All-Star Game while he won the KHL Defenseman of the Month Award three consecutive times between November and January.
Lehtonen also won Gold at the 2019 IIHF World Hockey Championship with Finland, contributing seven points (one goal, six assists) in 10 games and being named to the World Championship All-Star Team.
With an impressive resume in Europe, Lehtonen may not be tested in the NHL but he certainly boasts all the skills in his arsenal needed to succeed in North America.
Able to produce offense at a high-rate, the blueliner could quarterback the power play while really being able to help with the transition game and moving the puck up the ice.
That’s why Lehtonen would have been a perfect addition for the Golden Knights.
While a cap hit has not been disclosed, CapFriendly has Lehtonen’s Average Annual Value at $925,000 for 2020-21 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Even with seven pending free agents to try and re-sign, the Golden Knights would have been able to accommodate an entry-level contract for Lehtonen, thus giving them an incredibly cost-controlled asset for the 2020-21 season.
And, although Lehtonen is a left-shot, he can play the right side and that would have been ideal given Vegas’ slew of left-shot defensemen.
Plus, the Golden Knights are in need of someone to help Shea Theodore when it comes to driving the play and being a potent offensive punch from the blueline.
To be honest, it was frustrating to see that the Maple Leafs, already rich in offensive defensemen, signed Lehtonen given how many boxes he would have ticked for the Golden Knights.
He could have slotted into a top-four role or established himself as a mainstay on the bottom-pairing, while even if he did enjoy a monster debut season in the NHL, the jump in cap hit from 2020-21 to 2021-22 probably wouldn’t have been that substantial.
Able to add a scoring punch, get the puck up the ice and quarterback the power play, Mikko Lehtonen would have been perfect for the Vegas Golden Knights and it wouldn’t have cost them a lot either.
Let’s just hope that their loss isn’t to the massive gain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.