There is enough demand for Artturi Lehkonen in Montreal Canadiens at the NHL transfer line, writes Tommi Seppälä, NH Sport’s journalist for Urheil.
Let’s forget about the top right away Artturi Lehkonen Two hits and three points hit Vancouver on Thursday. We forget about the five-match scoreboard, during which the Turku pier has hit six hits. Lehkonen is rolling in the longest scoring streak of his NHL career, setting his own records for the entire season in both goals and points.
Let’s forget all this – at least for a moment.
Ice hockey is ultimately a goal-scoring game, and the difficulties in this department have over the years been criticized by Lehko on a couple of occasions. Still, in its own way, what is more fascinating is the kind of soul gaming that Lehkonen has used to fly with power this season.
Artturi Lehkonen is easily the very soul player of the Finnish NHL puck right now. It’s been a while.
Watch Lehkonen’s paints in the video below. The story continues after the video.
Lehkonen does not have the same toolbox as the stars of the new generation of Finns, but the sky protects the character, dedication and commitment of this player. We’re talking about a player who is from evening to night and switching to an exchange in the extreme readiness to move, struggle, and drive into spaces where it hurts.
The coach’s dream player is worn out hockey jargon, but for Lehkonen, the term is more than appropriate.
Lehkonen always seems to be ready to tear and grate like a raccoon dog, but still so that playing doesn’t go through running alone. Lehkonen does not run himself out of situations in the yard, play discs in critical areas or otherwise solo, but plays the game correctly, constantly maintaining the ability to react in different directions.
He is a really smart player.
In hockey, there is talk of soul players who lead their troops through relentless work, perseverance, and hard dedication from one match to another.
Lehkonen is a soul player in Montreal.
Lehkonen’s importance to Montreal has come to the fore this season as the team has been scrambling for bottom mud. Whether the match is anywhere or against anyone, Lehkonen has had a soul in the game. There were four or seven losses in the hose, Lehkonen’s workload has not dropped.
Artturi Lehkonen has been arguably the best player in the Montreal Canadiens this season, and the race is not even tight. When a TPS kennel is on ice, coaching blood pressure drops.
There is a reason why Lehkonen has played the most of Montreal’s attackers with underpower.
And now it’s not about one season. Lehkonen has been doing all this for a long time. For many, however, the importance of the Finnish pier has only opened up now that Montreal as a team has sunk to the bottom. The sport culture, which worships goals and power points, sought its hero elsewhere during the Stanley Cup finals last year, although Lehkonen also shone at the time.
In difficult times, the real colors of man come to the fore and Lehkonen’s colors now appear in many new ways.
Who will buy Lehkonen for the championship yacht?
And the colors have not gone unnoticed by the bosses of other NHL clubs. Lehkonen, who is playing for the last year of his contract, will very likely be traded to another team before the March 21 transfer deadline. Money always plays its own role in the NHL, but on a general level it can be said that there are currently 31 takers in Turku.
Such a soul player would be taken by anyone – especially when it comes to a relatively cheap one. Lehkonen earns $ 2.3 million for the period.
It wouldn’t be a big surprise if one of the toughest Stanley Cup candidates grabs Lehkonen in the ranks over the next week or so. Lehkonen’s ability to bring the same steady and very high-quality general-purpose performance to the table from night to night is hard to drain in the playoffs. Lehkonen is a really high-quality three-way player in the NHL.
Lehkonen is a type of player that many juniors should take a model from. While the general debate revolves around a lot of goals, scores, and air strikes from around the world, few in the NHL make a living by painting or cranking a puck in.
The NHL gathers appreciation through hard work ethic. Few can be Connor McDavid, but more can tear off maximum power from their machine. Lehkonen operates continuously on the upper surface of its own potential and must be given a high value.
That’s where the results come from. The statistics speak for themselves.
Corsi (disc management): 2.
Shot ratio: 1.
Goal Expectation Ratio: 1.
Score ratio: 1.
Ratio of hazardous targets: 1.
Minimum disc losses: 1.