Kari Lehtonen (born November 16, 1983) is a
Finnish former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
who played 14 seasons in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) for the
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...
and
Dallas Stars. He was selected second overall in the
2002 NHL Entry Draft
__NOTOC__
The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...
by the Thrashers, becoming the highest-drafted European goaltender, as well as being tied with
Patrik Laine
Patrik Laine (; born 19 April 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey winger who currently plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. Laine formerly played in his native Finland with Tappara in the Finnish Liiga befor ...
,
Alexander Barkov and
Kaapo Kakko for the highest-drafted Finnish player in NHL history.
Playing career
Early years
![Kari Lehtonen (15115377490) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Kari_Lehtonen_%2815115377490%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Lehtonen was drafted second overall in the
2002 NHL Entry Draft
__NOTOC__
The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...
by the
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...
after an outstanding 2001–02 season in the Finnish
SM-liiga
The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...
. Lehtonen was the backup goalie for
Jokerit
Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its ...
, but captured the starting position and won the
Urpo Ylönen trophy The Urpo Ylönen trophy is an ice hockey award given by the Finnish Liiga to the best goalie of the season. It is named for Urpo Ylönen, former goaltender and later goaltender coach. In 2019 it was awarded to Veini Vehviläinen of Kärpät.
Troph ...
, given to the best goalie of the season, and the league's playoff MVP award, the
Jari Kurri trophy. Lehtonen stayed with Jokerit for one more season before moving to North America.
Atlanta Thrashers
During the
2003–04 season, Lehtonen mostly spent his time with the
Chicago Wolves
The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...
, the Thrashers'
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
(AHL) affiliate, but he was called up for a number of occasions and played four games for the Thrashers, winning all four of them and posting one
shutout
In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.
Shutouts are usuall ...
. In the four games with the Thrashers, he posted a .953 save percentage and 1.25
goals against average
Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...
(GAA).
Lehtonen spent the
2004–05 NHL lockout
The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play.
The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...
season with the Wolves, adjusting to the North American playing style. After playing 57 games for the Wolves, of which he won 38, posting .929 save percentage and 2.27 GAA, the Thrashers called him up, and Lehtonen started the
2005–06 season as the starting goalie for Atlanta. On the opening night of the 2005–06 season, Lehtonen suffered a serious
groin injury when
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
centre
Nathan Horton collided with him. The injury sidelined him for 35 games. Lehtonen was once again injured on April 6, 2006, when
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
forward
Chris Dingman collided with him; Lehtonen tried to get to his feet, but sprained his ankle in the process.
Shortly into the
2006–07 season, Lehtonen broke the Atlanta Thrashers shutout streak record previously held by
Michael Garnett
Michael Garnett (born November 25, 1982) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played for Nottingham Panthers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). Garnett previously played for the National Hockey League's ...
. He also set his career highs in every category.
AirTran Airways
AirTran Airways was a low-cost U.S. airline that was originally headquartered in Orlando, Florida, and ceased operation following its acquisition by Southwest Airlines.
AirTran Airways was established in 1993 as Conquest Sun Airlines by the ...
, a low-cost airline, signed Lehtonen as an endorser for the 2006–07 season. On February 8, 2007, Lehtonen became the Thrashers franchise leader for wins by a goaltender with 49, surpassing
Pasi Nurminen
Pasi Johan Olavi Nurminen (born December 17, 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers as their sixth-round pick, #189 overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
Nurminen started his playi ...
's record of 48. On April 12, 2007, Lehtonen was the starting goaltender for the Thrashers in their first
Stanley Cup playoff
The season structure of the National Hockey League (NHL) is divided into the pre-season, regular season, and the Stanley Cup playoffs. In the pre-season, which is generally held during the last two weeks of September, each team plays several not-fo ...
game.
After a rough start to the
2007–08 season, Lehtonen suffered another groin injury on October 18, 2007. He would miss 16 games before returning on December 5, 2007. He finished the season with a respectable save percentage to go along with four shutouts as the Thrashers failed to qualify for the
2008 playoffs.
Dallas Stars
On February 9, 2010, Lehtonen was traded to the
Dallas Stars in exchange for
Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth-round draft pick in the
2010 NHL Entry Draft
The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial re ...
(
Ivan Telegin
Ivan Alexeyvich Telegin (russian: Иван Алексеевич Телегин; born 28 February 1992) is a Russian professional ice hockey centre who currently plays for Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was drafted by t ...
). Prior to the start of the
2010–11 season, the Stars signed Lehtonen to a three-year, $10.65 million extension. In his first full season in Dallas, Lehtonen compiled a 34–24 record with a 2.55 GAA. Lehtonen and the Stars were officially eliminated from contention for a seed in the
2011 playoffs after losing to the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...
on the final day of the regular season.
On September 4, 2012, the day before an impending lockout, Lehtonen signed a five-year, $29.5 million contract. Lehtonen made the playoffs with the Stars for the first time in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. Prior to the
2015–16 season, the Stars acquired fellow Finnish goaltender
Antti Niemi to compete with Lehtonen. They alternated regularly the next two seasons. In the
2016 playoffs, Lehtonen established himself as the primary goalie. However, in Game 7 of the second round, he was pulled after giving up three goals in the first period as the Stars' season ended with a 6–1 loss to the
St. Louis Blues.
He earned his 300th win on December 13, 2017, in a game against the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
by making 32 saves to clinch a 5–2 win.
International play
Lehtonen has been selected to play for Finland's youth and
national
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
teams on many occasions. He won a bronze medal at the
2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
. He played in two games, one victory in the preliminary round and a loss in the semi-finals.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
*
Urpo Ylönen trophy The Urpo Ylönen trophy is an ice hockey award given by the Finnish Liiga to the best goalie of the season. It is named for Urpo Ylönen, former goaltender and later goaltender coach. In 2019 it was awarded to Veini Vehviläinen of Kärpät.
Troph ...
for best SM-liiga goaltender — 2002 and 2003
*
Jari Kurri trophy for best player during the playoffs — 2002
*
SM-liiga
The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...
champion 2002
*
2004 World Cup of Hockey
The 2004 World Cup of Hockey was an international ice hockey tournament. It was the second installment of the National Hockey League (NHL)-sanctioned competition, eight years after the inaugural 1996 World Cup of Hockey. It was held from August 3 ...
(runner-up)
* Silver Medal in the
2007 IIHF World Championship
The 2007 IIHF World Championship was held between 27 April and 13 May 2007 in Moscow, Russia. It was the 71st annual world championship event run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament was won by Canada with Rick Nas ...
* Best Goaltender in the
2007 IIHF World Championship
The 2007 IIHF World Championship was held between 27 April and 13 May 2007 in Moscow, Russia. It was the 71st annual world championship event run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament was won by Canada with Rick Nas ...
* Bronze Medal in the
2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
Records
* Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader for games played by a goaltender (204).
* Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader for victories (94).
* Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader shutouts (14).
* Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader for games played by a goaltender in a single season (68).
* Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader for saves in a single season (1,892).
* Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader for shutouts in a single season (4).
* Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader for starts in a single season (66).
* Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader for minutes played in a single season (3,934).
Mask history
* While playing for the AHL's
Chicago Wolves
The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...
, the
Hamburglar
McDonaldland is a McDonald's media franchise and the fictional fantasy world inhabited by Ronald McDonald and his friends. Starting with the creation of Ronald McDonald in 1963 it is primarily developed and published by McDonald's, initial att ...
was featured on Lehtonen's mask, an homage to the nickname he received shortly after arriving from Finland and becoming enamoured with
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
hamburger
A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...
s.
* He had a depiction of rapper
Lil Jon, who is an avid Thrashers fan, on his mask.
* In the past, Lehtonen has worn helmets featuring characters
Yuna
Yuna may refer to:
Geography
*Yuna River, Dominican Republic
*Yuna, Western Australia
Music
* ''Yuna'' (album), a 2012 album by Malaysian singer Yuna
* ''Yuna'' (EP), a 2008 album by Malaysian acoustic singer Yuna
People Japanese
*Yuna Aoi, wr ...
and
Rikku
Rikku is a fictional character in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, created by Tetsuya Nomura. Rikku first appears in ''Final Fantasy X'' as one of its protagonists, where she accompanies her cousin Yuna (Final Fantasy), Yuna and others on a journey ...
from the video game ''
Final Fantasy X-2'', as well as
Uma Thurman and
Lucy Liu's characters from ''
Kill Bill
''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) an ...
''. Lehtonen, however, is not a video game fanatic; "I've never played it, but I saw a couple of commercials about the game and just thought it looked awesome."
* He als
had a mask madefeaturing
Optimus Prime from ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...
'', which was never worn in a game, only in pre-game warm ups.
* He also wore a mask that showed a depiction of
Heath Ledger's
Joker character from ''
The Dark Knight'', with a stylized ATL featured on the other side.
* His first mask for the Dallas Stars depicted
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
's character from the movie ''
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly''.
* His second mask for the Stars featured
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...
.
* His former mask for Dallas Stars featured characters and scenes from the movie
''Tombstone''.
Personal life
On July 2, 2011, Kari married longtime girlfriend Abbe Schutter in a private ceremony at the Club at Hammock Beach in
Palm Coast, Florida
Palm Coast is a city in Flagler County, Florida. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,180, more than twice the 32,832 counted in 2000. The population was estimated to be 89,800 in 2019. It is the most populous city in Flagler ...
. Kari met Abbe while playing in Atlanta.
Lehtonen's childhood idol was iconic Finnish goaltender
Jarmo Myllys.
Grand Rapids Griffins: E-Griffiti
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehtonen, Kari
1983 births
Living people
Atlanta Thrashers draft picks
Atlanta Thrashers players
Chicago Wolves players
Dallas Stars players
Finnish ice hockey goaltenders
Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Jokerit players
Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
Olympic bronze medalists for Finland
Olympic ice hockey players of Finland
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Ice hockey people from Helsinki