Artturi Lehkonen is quietly having a great season with the Colorado Avalanche.
The 31-year-old has 12 goals and 17 points in 18 games this season. He’s been a force on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. Most importantly, he’s stayed healthy this season, allowing him to find consistency.
But there’s one thing hanging over him. Lehkonen is in the final year of the five-year deal he signed in 2022. That deal carries a $4.5 million cap hit, once seen as a bit high, now looks like a bargain.
And that’s precisely why things may be complicated for Lehkonen and the Avalanche.
As notable insider Chris Johnston noted, Lehkonen doesn’t want to go anywhere. But he may end up getting caught up in a game of numbers. And that could lead to his eventual departure from Colorado.
“I can tell you with certainty...Artturi Lehkonen would love to remain in Colorado; Darren Raddysh got to a point where...[Tampa] weren't gonna pay him what the market was...I think it could end up in the same spot for Lehkonen.”
As Johnston stated during the November 5 edition of the Chris Johnston show, a good recent example is Darren Raddysh. He had a career year last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, the cost-conscious, cap-strapped Bolts could not keep him at the price point he wanted. So, they traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fifth-round pick. The Leafs then signed him to an eight-year deal worth $68 million.
Raddysh went from a one-year league-minimum deal to cashing in on the biggest contract of his life after just one season of true high-end performance.
Now, think about Lehkonen’s performance. He has a track record of being a top-liner and a playoff warrior. How much could he fetch on the open market?
That’s a question that may be too tough for the Avalanche to answer.
There’s one way Artturi Lehkonen could stay in Colorado
At this point, it’s all a numbers game. And because of that numbers game, the Avalanche may have a way of keeping Artturi Lehkonen.
That path would require both sides to sort of meet in the middle.
The Avalanche currently have $12.5 million in available cap space for next season. That includes Cale Makar’s monster extension kicking in.
Now, the Avs have three big UFAs next summer: Lehkonen, Nic Roy, and Brent Burns. There’s also one RFA, T.J. Hughes.
Let’s assume that the Avalanche don’t mess around and re-sign Hughes. Let’s say he gets a bump from $952K to about $2 million on a bridge deal. We’re also assuming that Burns won’t be back. Even if he wanted to play, his questionable showing this season may signal that the end is nigh. So, the only thing the Avalanche will be on the hook for next season will be his performance bonuses.
That could leave the Avs with about $8 million to re-sign Lehkonen and Roy, find a depth defenseman, and round out the roster.
Unless Lehkonen was willing to take a much lower payday, say, something along the lines of $6 million on a two-year deal or something like that, there’s no way that the Avs could pay him fair market value and still round out the roster.
Mind you, if Arrturi Lehkonen really wanted to test the market, he could easily double his current contract on another four or even five-year deal.
In fact, things may come down to the Avalanche having to choose between Roy and Lehkonen. And if they were sure that Lehkonen wasn’t going to take a pay cut, the organization may find no other way out but to move Lehkonen at the NHL trade deadline.
Add us as a preferred source on Google