(Photo: nhlsnipers.com)

Lehtinen spent his entire NHL career with the Dallas Stars. He was drafted in 1992 by Minnesota but did not make his debut until the 1995-96 season. Lehtinen’s hard work soon saw him up on the first line with Mike Modano and earned himself a Selke nomination. In 1999, he would add Stanley Cup champion to his already impressive resume. He notched his first playoff goal in game six and assisted on Brett Hull’s controversial one. In the same fashion, he captured the Selke trophy becoming only the third player to win it in consecutive seasons.
Speaking of his impressive resume, internationally Lehtinen is a god among men. Lehtinen has suited up for Team Finland a total of 20 times in his career. He has 4 Olympic medals for Team Finland (3 bronze, one silver), and 4 World Championship medals (3 silver, one gold).  He is one of only 6 hockey players to earn 4 medals in Olympic competition and one of 7 who have appeared in at least 5 Olympic games.
Lehtinen suffered from injuries for the 2007-08 season. As the years progressed, he officially announced his retirement in 2010. The flying Finn, ended his career with a plus/minus of +176. He never once finished a season in the minus until his final one. I’d say that’s one hell of a outing if there ever was one.

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If we go back to days lost long ago of “old time” hockey, every team had a tough guy. Some had two or three but there was at least one on every team. Perhaps that mentality has gone a little bit the way of the do-do bird recently but it’s something the Stars lack. Someone with that much grit and intensity can spark up a team in their lowest moments. Lord knows how many games have had their momentum turned due to a big hit or a big fight.
The other teams in the league probably look at Dallas as soft. Yes there’s Fiddler and Larsen but there is no one that will jump in on a hit to Benn, Whitney or even Jagr better then Janssen will. He’s there for protection. The 25 year old has only played in three games this season and was a healthy scratch on Tuesday night’s loss to Montreal. This recent 4 game losing streak would be the perfect time to light a fire to the team.
It will be interesting to see if Dallas goes anywhere near any of the players who were recently placed on waivers. As for Janssen, his fate lies in another team’s hands or down in the AHL.

Follow me on Twitter: @MissAMarch