What Will it Take for the Montreal Canadiens to Sign Mikko Lehtonen?

On May 1st, Sportsnet reported the Montreal Canadiens have expressed interest in signing one of the KHL’s top defenseman in Mikko Lehtonen. The 26-year old had 49 points in 60 games in the 2019-20 season with the Helsinki Jokerit.

One of the longest-standing issues for the Montreal Canadiens has been the lack of a left-handed defenseman to play with either Shea Weber or Jeff Petry. Signing Mikko Lehtonen would guarantee one of these two players gets a chance to play with him to find the ideal pairing.

The Montreal Canadiens have been looking for a high-end left-defenceman since Andrei Markov’s last season with the team in 2016-17. Attempts were made at signing Mark Streit, which quickly faltered and then signing Karl Alzner to a questionable contract at a time when the game was changing, and teams needed fast and skilled players on the blueline to succeed. Attempts were even made at using Jordie Benn alongside Shea Weber, making for a much slower pairing than the opponents at times.

Brett Kulak and Victor Meter have been rotating with Shea Weber for the better part of two seasons. Most recently, Ben Chiarot found some success in a career year in goals on the top pairing but, in the long run, is better suited for the second or third pairing.

Bringing Mikko Lehtonen would be able to fill this void. Lehtonen is both quick skates and strong on offense, something that has not been attained for the Canadiens with their many experiments.

If Lehtonen signs with the Montreal Canadiens and is able to translate his game into the NHL, he will have been just what the team has been looking for in the past three to four years.

What Will it Take to Sign Lehtonen?

The Montreal Canadiens are not the only team in on Mikko Lehtonen. The Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils have also inquired about the Finnish defenseman’s services. Lehtonen would have a chance a top-4 pairing minutes on either of the three teams, so he would have to be enticed to join the team using other methods. However, when looking at the depth chart, Lehtonen may have an easier time jumping to the top of the team’s left-handed defensemen rankings.

We will also most likely be seeing Alexander Romanov join the team, so there may be some healthy competition on the left side of the defense. In all likelihood, if anyone were to play with Shea Weber out of the gate, it would be Lehtonen as Romanov should be allowed to have some time to develop and then gradually increase his ice time.

In order to bring Mikko Lehtonen over to Montreal, one method of doing so can involve the Finnish connection. With players such as Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Artturri Lehkonen and Joel Armia, Lehtonen may be enticed to play with a few of his fellow countrymen.

One thing to note is Mikko Lehtonen will not be able to be enticed using an enticing contract offer as wherever he goes to play in the NHL, be that with the Montreal Canadiens or elsewhere, he will have to sign a one-year, entry-level contract.

That means Lehtonen will need to be convinced using ice time, the Finnish connection (if Montreal is in play) and any other attractions that teams can muster up. This may include training facilities or even the atmosphere and fandom surrounding the teams who are interested in signing Lehtonen