Player Discussion Artturi Lehkonen

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Lehkonen is slightly better than a fine a dozen, but not too much.

He's got a really good shot, but can't seem to complete a lot of the time.

I wouldn't get rid of him for free, but if someone wanted him and we upgraded, I would likely be fine with him going.

 

[montreal]

This guy has become a dime a dozen player.
In his third year and his offense is regressing.

I use to think he was a building block but now I see him as a spare part. I thought he would be much better in Year 3

his goals are down but his offense is not regressing. In the last 2 years he's had 19 assists in 139 games. This year in 52 games he's got 17 assists, so he's clearly going to put up more assists this year then he did in 2 years. He's still young, needs to fill out, get stronger, quicker. I wouldn't write him off yet. He's on pace for 38 pts, going into this season he had 49 pts in his career, so clearly things are going better for him this year then the past 2 years. The question is can he continue to get better or will be a 3rd liner that puts up 30-40 pts a year?

 

[Tyson]

his goals are down but his offense is not regressing. In the last 2 years he's had 19 assists in 139 games. This year in 52 games he's got 17 assists, so he's clearly going to put up more assists this year then he did in 2 years. He's still young, needs to fill out, get stronger, quicker. I wouldn't write him off yet. He's on pace for 38 pts, going into this season he had 49 pts in his career, so clearly things are going better for him this year then the past 2 years. The question is can he continue to get better or will be a 3rd liner that puts up 30-40 pts a year?

18 goals as a rookie...expecting more 2 full years later. I agree that his points are up but we need some goals from this kid

 

[ProspectsFanatic]

This could be his first NHL season if he played all his exempt from AHL season, he is doing relatively fine. But yeah I don't see much than a third liner even in the long run, his upside seems limited, no attribute in his game has high-end upside. Shaw deserves his top9 quickly with how he has been playing this year, Byron complement well an offensive line with his speed so he is a lock to me aswell, Lehkonen would be the one I would drop on the 4th, Armia would be the other option, at least both can get some extra usage out of the PK. Scratching Drouin could actually be another option since he can be a liability when it isn't clicking for him offensively.

 

[montreal]

18 goals as a rookie...expecting more 2 full years later. I agree that his points are up but we need some goals from this kid

assists are needed to score goals most of the time, clearly he's doing better this year but not scoring goals enough. Imo things are going well enough for him that you keep him around until you know you have someone better for the long term since this team likely isn't going anywhere in the next few years.

 

[Habs4Life]

Needs to start scoring

 

[CauZuki]

Needs to start scoring

Had a very nice assist on Kotkaniemi's goal yesterday but he definitely needs to use his shot more it's one of his best assets.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Is he basically going to be Jakob Silfverberg?

 

[Deebs]

Is he basically going to be Jakob Silfverberg?

Nice, I'll take it

 

[26Mats]

Lehkonen is slightly better than a fine a dozen, but not too much.

He's got a really good shot, but can't seem to complete a lot of the time.

I wouldn't get rid of him for free, but if someone wanted him and we upgraded, I would likely be fine with him going.

Bergevin said in a recent interview, when teams call about his forwards, they call about Lehkonen.

Not sure if he was pumping his value, but from that conversation, Bergevin said Lehkonen does a lot of things that help us win that don't show up on the score sheet, and he seems to like him.

I'd trade for Johansson if the price is right and bump Lehkonen to the 4th line for now.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Lehkonen doesn't look small on the ice, pretty sure he's 5'11 at least.

Edit : in hockey measurements, as players are often 2 inches smaller in real life.

I lost a full inch between 25 and 35. I used to be just under 6'. Now, I'm a bit under 5'11

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

On pace for close to 45 points playing on the third line. That's the sort of progression I was hoping to see. Stats, name and style are all eerily similar to Jere Lehtinen

I called that 2-3 years ago when he was starting

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Is he basically going to be Jakob Silfverberg?

Silfverberg is a better goal scorer. I believe Lehkonen wins in the effort department

Bergevin said in a recent interview, when teams call about his forwards, they call about Lehkonen.

Not sure if he was pumping his value, but from that conversation, Bergevin said Lehkonen does a lot of things that help us win that don't show up on the score sheet, and he seems to like him.

I'd trade for Johansson if the price is right and bump Lehkonen to the 4th line for now.

He does do a lot of things that doesn't show up, but when you suck offensively you need to convert on your chances.

He's not scoring not because a lack of chances, but rather he completely misses good - great chances.

I called that 2-3 years ago when he was starting

While you didnt post what I'm going to be referring to, the post you quoted did. He went from on pace to 45 points now down to 36.

I highly doubt he'll be close to Lehtinen.

 

[26Mats]

Silfverberg is a better goal scorer. I believe Lehkonen wins in the effort department



He does do a lot of things that doesn't show up, but when you suck offensively you need to convert on your chances.

He's not scoring not because a lack of chances, but rather he completely misses good - great chances.



While you didnt post what I'm going to be referring to, the post you quoted did. He went from on pace to 45 points now down to 36.

I highly doubt he'll be close to Lehtinen.

I'd be fine with Lehkonen on the 4th line or on a 3rd line centered by Danault that's a shutdown line.

Until he improves his offense, I don't like him playing with Kotkaniemi, Drouin, Domi, Gallagher, or Tatar.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

After Radulov, Lehkonen was our best forward the last time we made the playoffs.. he seems to step up his offense later in the season when games get tougher.

- 14 goals in 37 games in March/April (31 goal pace over 82 games)
- 23 goals in 155 games otherwise (12 goal pace over 82 games)

He misses a lot of great opportunities, but he's still just 23 and the positive thing is he's at least creating a lot of chances. Worst case he ends up a very good 2-way 3rd liner getting 30-40 points, however he's got the potential to be a top 6 winger and he's already been producing very well at ES.

 

[Habs4Life]

he needs to create more offense, otherwise hes useless and should be replaced.

 

[le_sean]

Sorry but in 3 seasons he hasn’t even hit 30 points. I know he looks good because he works hard, forechecks well and kills penalties, but that’s all he does. He doesn’t have much offensive IQ. I would trade him for an upgrade before it becomes abundantly clear to everyone in the NHL that he is only a 3rd liner.

 

[De Montreal]

He's very streaky. His points come in bunch then he get into long slump. I can live with that if he play like he did in the playoff for us in 2016.

He is also +11, only Danault has a better +/-. Plus he's decent on the PK.

 

[Deebs]

Sorry but in 3 seasons he hasn’t even hit 30 points. I know he looks good because he works hard, forechecks well and kills penalties, but that’s all he does. He doesn’t have much offensive IQ. I would trade him for an upgrade before it becomes abundantly clear to everyone in the NHL that he is only a 3rd liner.

In two seasons he hasn't but he's going to this year in his 3rd. Excellent young player that does everything well and busts his butt doing it. I'm happy to have him as part of the crew. Solid 3rd line winger and that's just fine

 

[Non Player Canadiens]

i don't get the hate. he's doing fine for a young 3rd liner winger. not sure what ppl were expecting

 

[Dongstoppable]

Sorry but in 3 seasons he hasn’t even hit 30 points. I know he looks good because he works hard, forechecks well and kills penalties, but that’s all he does. He doesn’t have much offensive IQ. I would trade him for an upgrade before it becomes abundantly clear to everyone in the NHL that he is only a 3rd liner.

Why? What could you realistically trade him for that would be better than a cost-controlled 3rd liner who works hard and contributes in all areas of the ice? Adjust your expectations. He's not a star, but he's a very useful player who's young enough to still improve.

 

[le_sean]

Why? What could you realistically trade him for that would be better than a cost-controlled 3rd liner who works hard and contributes in all areas of the ice? Adjust your expectations. He's not a star, but he's a very useful player who's young enough to still improve.

The team has enough good two-way players that they can trade one away. I like the kid, I won’t be at all upset if he stays, but I feel he still has good value because he’s young, cost-controlled and to outsiders he may seem to have more offensive potential. But watching every single game, it’s obvious he has offensive limitations. I’d rather package him for an impact player.

 

[Fixxer]

i don't get the hate. he's doing fine for a young 3rd liner winger. not sure what ppl were expecting

I agree 100%. The issue is that he is used more than your average 3rd line winger. People need to stop expecting more out of him unless he proves it. People say he has a great shot, but he shoots off target a lot. He tries his best out there, creates turnovers, plays great defensively, etc. -- Offensively, very inconsistent and shooting anywhere.
As I said before, I thought he'd score more and make up for some of the goals Pacioretty would have scored if he was here. He has not done much of a bigger role and hopefully, he stays on the 3rd line.

 

[montreal]

he needs to create more offense, otherwise hes useless and should be replaced.

I don't see the problem, he's clearly creating more offense this year since in 20 less games he's almost double his career high in assists. He should easily break 30 pts this year while still a few years away from his prime.

Sorry but in 3 seasons he hasn’t even hit 30 points. I know he looks good because he works hard, forechecks well and kills penalties, but that’s all he does. He doesn’t have much offensive IQ. I would trade him for an upgrade before it becomes abundantly clear to everyone in the NHL that he is only a 3rd liner.

He's on pace for 38 pts this year, that's certainly solid 3rd line production. He's having a career year so the hope is that over the next few years he's gets a good bit better.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I don't see the problem, he's clearly creating more offense this year since in 20 less games he's almost double his career high in assists. He should easily break 30 pts this year while still a few years away from his prime.



He's on pace for 38 pts this year, that's certainly solid 3rd line production. He's having a career year so the hope is that over the next few years he's gets a good bit better.

At the same age Plekanec got 29 in 67, granted it was his first season, but on the other hand had time to develop in the A, which Lek did in the big league instead.

People are way too critical of Artturi