Kari Lehtonen. What comes to mind when you think about the Dallas Stars starting goaltender?
Maybe his inconsistent play? Or maybe his lack of composure and inefficiency in the playoffs? Or maybe you think about one of his worst career performances last season?
Whatever you may think, the most recent memory you have is his disappointing and somewhat disastrous 2014-2015 campaign.
In 2014-2015, Kari Lehtonen never really found true consistency. After a not-so-bad start to the year in October and November, his numbers and quality started to take a toll in December and January. He found a few hot streaks in February and early March, but fell just short in late March and April, taking the Stars playoff hopes with him.
Kari Lehtonen’s numbers on the season are a bit confusing. Overall, Lehtonen started and played in 65 of the Stars 82 games. On the season, he ended up tying his career high for wins in a season. Strangely enough, he even had more losses in the 2013-2014 season that ended in a playoff run than he had this year. That was also with the same amount of games played. Overall, Lehtonen went 34-17-10, which is quite the impressive record. Only six NHL goalies had more wins than him.
The save percentage and goals against average are where things go awry. Lehtonen finished the year with a .903 save percentage, the lowest of his career. This is where people focus their attention and use it as evidence to blame Lehtonen for all of the Stars’ misfortunes. His goals against average finished at 2.94, the second lowest of his career.
All in all, Lehtonen faced 1,875 shots on the year. So for all of those who blamed the defense for leaving Lehtonen out to dry, this looks like quite a high number. But, when you look at it, this only translates to 22 shots per game, which is a small amount. This shot total is the fourth most he’s taken in a season. Last season, he actually took 13 more shots.
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So, how do these numbers correlate? The thing is, they really don’t. He was sort of all over the place in 14-15.
With this in mind, many Stars fans are worried about Kari Lehtonen and if he is truly the Stars go-to goalie for a potential playoff run next year. Some have called for a trade, while some have called to move Lehtonen to the backup position.
But Lehtonen won’t be moving anytime soon. For a few reasons.
“There’s always that. You have to get the results to get the chance to play. I realize I didn’t have a good year and I need to do a lot of work to earn a chance to play again. That’s pretty simple.”
First off, his contract is practically immovable, even for a GM mastermind like Jim Nill. Lehtonen signed a five year extension just before the lockout season was set to begin. Lehtonen averages a $5.9 million salary per year and is on board with Dallas until 2018. After the year he had compared to the money he makes, there probably aren’t many teams breaking down Nill’s door to trade for him. But that’s okay.
It’s okay because Kari Lehtonen understands his flaws and mistakes. In his exit interview, he repeatedly told the media that he knew he played poorly throughout the year and that he needed to be better if the team was going to succeed as a whole.
Next: Complete Coverage Of Kari Lehtonen's Exit Day Interview
Lehtonen is a seasoned veteran. At the age of 31, Lehtonen knows the game after 11 seasons in the league. If his numbers went down one season, the next year he found a way to scoop them back up and improve his game. Kari Lehtonen may have contributed to ruining the Stars playoff chances this year, but next year he has no excuses. With a more experienced defensive corps in front of him and the always-lethal offense managing possession, he will need to be sharp as a tack. More than likely, he will be.
Kari Lehtonen may have helped crushed playoff hopes, but what kind of player worth $5.9 million a year makes the same mistake twice? No worries, Stars fans. Keep the faith. At least until the next year begins and we examine what happens.
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