Confirmed Trade: [CBJ/TOR] Mikko Lehtonen for Veini Vehvilainen

[illone84]

I am not trying to insult. I have seen Mikko play enough to know what his level is. You don't know because you haven't even tried. I am fully aware that KHL is a tier inferior league to NHL, but their superstars tend to do well in NHL as well.

Only D I'd take from Leafs before Lehtonen is Reilly, who is not really good defensively. Muzzin is good but he has no offence.

If you think someone like Bogosian or Dermott is better than Lehtonen, I can only laugh at you.

Of course there is no proof on the table yet, it remains to be seen...I've been wrong before

Yeah, but how long until Lehtonen is benched?

 

[MMANumminen]

Yeah, but how long until Lehtonen is benched?

CBJ defence is so bad I don't see that. And he is not as flegmatic as Laine. But who knows with Turtles...

 

[SaekkiPaelli]

Below is my post from May last year and I still stand by this. So if he can figure out the defensive end so he isn't a liability then he'll definitely be a good player. Maybe he could slot in with Savard?

He is the best defenseman outside of the NHL in my opinion. Watched nearly all his home games this season and he is absolutely stellar with the puck. He can carry it out of the dzone himself or pass it, and most importantly he seemed calm with the puck. He has great hands for a dman. His skating is really good as well. Really good on the powerplay as well. He had 17+32=49 in 60 games in the KHL and was 6th in points overall (1st for dmen).

The worry is his play in the dzone without the puck. He managed well in the KHL, but the NHL is a different beast.

I honestly see him having nr 1 dman upside offensively (not defensively though), but I think he will slot in as the nr 3 with a defensive minded partner. Then play PP2. I don't think he would ever be a good bottom pairing guy. So if he doesn't manage to get a top4 role he won't have a nhl career.

As someone said though, you just never know with these guys, he might turn out to be flop. But I don't think I've been this high on any 25 years + finnish player outside the NHL.

 

[Dr Quincy]

Has he ever played a single game in the AHL ?

He played over 30 games in the AHL last year.

 

[varano]

I think this is more about giving lehtonen a shot at a team where he can play full time.

 

[tellermine]

CLB easily wins this trade, if Lehtonen is given a chance to settle in, you have a top 4 Dman, at the very least a top 6.

Ok. I think he is not that good defending in NHL.
We will see.

 

[sxvnert]

Nothing more than Dubas doing Lehtonen a solid while picking up a much needed 3/4 goaltender for the AHL. Win Win for both teams.

 

[ThisIsMyAlibi]

Leafs have too many capable dmen (didn't think that's a sentence i would ever say)

Famous last words

 

[Sundinisagod]

I am not trying to insult. I have seen Mikko play enough to know what his level is. You don't know because you haven't even tried. I am fully aware that KHL is a tier inferior league to NHL, but their superstars tend to do well in NHL as well.

Only D I'd take from Leafs before Lehtonen is Reilly, who is not really good defensively. Muzzin is good but he has no offence.

If you think someone like Bogosian or Dermott is better than Lehtonen, I can only laugh at you.

Of course there is no proof on the table yet, it remains to be seen...I've been wrong before

You would take him over Brodie too ?

 

[Sundinisagod]

Great trade for Columbus.

Imho he can definitely play a 4/5 role right now.

Toronto must have promised him they'd give him a chance elsewhere if he wasn't going to get ice time here.

 

[The Shrike]

The new hype is Zack Hyman. Leaf fans Love affair with this player is at a whole new level. They won’t like him so much when he asks for 5 million a year.

It's around that point that we'll remember his dads less than stellar contributions to junior hockey in Ontario.

 

[untouchable21]

I like, Jarmo collecting Finns

EDIT: Finns who will, you know, actually play for their team

Next up, Sami Niku plus a pick for Savard

 

[NewEraGM]

Just worry about your 1st and 2nd overall picks cracking 30 points.

Who on my team is a 1st or second overall pick???

You need to be a bad team to have that...leafs have 3 of them for example

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Who on my team is a 1st or second overall pick???

You need to be a bad team to have that...leafs have 3 of them for example

Leafs have 3 1st or 2nd overalls?
I guess Matthews and Tavares but who else was 2nd overall on the team?
How does having Matthews and Tavares make them a bad team?

 

[Leaf Fans]

Who on my team is a 1st or second overall pick???

You need to be a bad team to have that...leafs have 3 of them for example

Only one that they drafted though.

 

[Leaf Fans]

Leafs have 3 1st or 2nd overalls?
I guess Matthews and Tavares but who else was 2nd overall on the team?
How does having Matthews and Tavares make them a bad team?

There is also Jumbo.

 

[ijuka]

Maybe Dubas thought " it worked for Chicago, maybe it works for us as well "

You know Veini Vehviläinen isn't just some nobody goalie
World Champion, World Junior Champion, Sm-Liiga champion

Has games in the Champions Hockey League, Euro Hockey Tour, Hlinka/Gretzky

Over 200 pro games under his belt.

Veini Vehviläinen is freaking awful. Maybe he got championships, but in every case he got carried by his team while sucking.

His world junior championship? Whoa, what an achievement. 4 games, 83.8% save%. Was a total sieve.

Sucked in AHL, Sucked in world championships. He's just a bad goalie.

 

[A1LeafNation]

I said i like that Jarmo is collecting Finns, referring to first acquiring Laine now Lehtonen

You asked isn't VV a Finn too, to which i replied doesn't matter since he's not an NHL player

I don't know man, what's your point?

Trading a finn for a finn isn't collecting finn's lol.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Veini Vehviläinen is freaking awful. Maybe he got championships, but in every case he got carried by his team while sucking.

His world junior championship? Whoa, what an achievement. 4 games, 83.8% save%. Was a total sieve.

Sucked in AHL, Sucked in world championships. He's just a bad goalie.

He's a young kid with a very small sample size. give him a chance before you throw him to the wolves.
I'm glad you have no input on what this team does.

 

[NinjaTurtle]

Only D I'd take from Leafs before Lehtonen is Reilly, who is not really good defensively. Muzzin is good but he has no offence.

If you think someone like Bogosian or Dermott is better than Lehtonen, I can only laugh at you.

Surely hyperbole. Brodie is a legitimate, proven #2-3 on a reasonable contract.

Excluding Muzzin also shows considerable bias.

 

[HarrisonFord]

Think this is a big win for Columbus.

From the Leafs perspective it gives credibility to international free agents that if we bring you here and it doesn’t work out, we will commit to sending you to a team where you’ll get a shot at full playing time.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

This has to be a move to clear money that's the only way it makes sense

 

[ThatsSoSlavin]

It’s the leafs staying in good standings with European free agents, he wasn’t getting playing time which he was promised so they sent him somewhere wher he would, thus filling their promise of being able to play. Makes us attractive to European free agents because they know if we can’t play them we’ll send them somewhere they can

 

[uncleben]

This has to be a move to clear money that's the only way it makes sense

Lehtonen was already sent down to the taxi/minors before the trade, so no money cleared.

It was purely about getting the player a chance somewhere else.

 

[Nizdizzle]

Lehtonen was already sent down to the taxi/minors before the trade, so no money cleared.

It was purely about getting the player a chance somewhere else.

100% when Dubas pitches to European UFA's, he tells them if they can't make the Leafs lineup he will move them to a team that can fit them into the lineup. He has done it with a few players already and its probably why the Leafs have had so much success with signing some of these players. Players are more confident that they won't get buried if they can't crack the lineup right away.