Dallas Stars Have Leverage On Kari Lehtonen This Season
By Josh Clark
It’s a question that’s been asked for multiple seasons now, yet it is still relevant. Will the Dallas Stars ever go and find themselves a new starting goalie?
In today’s society, professional sports championships all seem to follow a similar pattern. The entire league plays a regular season slate, the best teams move on to the postseason, and eventually one team is left standing to receive all of the spoils.
But amidst all of these similarities in determining who’s the best, there are some differences. One of the biggest differences lies within the trophy itself.
Out of the four major sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) that are followed in North America, there is only one that awards the same trophy over and over again. While the NFL, NBA, and MLB make copies of their trophy so each team can keep their prize, the NHL gives out one Stanley Cup that the champion is able to keep until the next season when a new champion is crowned.
That being said, it is extremely special when a team is awarded the Stanley Cup.
The Dallas Stars want to be that team and they want to be it now. Last season, Dallas made a strong and somewhat surprising run that involved them claiming the Central Division title and moving on to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But they were once again cut down by what consistently seems to be their achilles heel: their goaltending. The Stars possess an almost unfair offensive force, we know that. Sure, their defense has been a bit iffy over the past few years. Whatever you believe the case may be, there always seems to be a case against the goalies.
Headlining the group in the crease is Finnish goaltender Kari Lehtonen. The Big Finn was traded from Atlanta to Dallas on February 9, 2010, and he has stumbled down a path of repetitively falling short ever since.
Over the past few years, Lehtonen has seen the likes of Richard Bachman, Dan Ellis, Tim Thomas, Anders Lindback, Jhonas Enroth, and currently Antti Niemi pass through the crease alongside him. But for some reason, Lehtonen has always watched other goalies be dealt instead of actually being the one involved in the transaction.
Why is that? He’s yet to get the Dallas Stars to a Western Conference Finals appearance, he is somewhat injury prone, and he can never find consistency. Why would the Stars want to keep him?
Some say it is because his contract (5 year, $5.9 million per) is not tradable. Others believe it is because Lehtonen (32 years old) is simply too far past his prime to trade away. Then there is the tiny group in the corner saying, “Don’t worry! This is Lehtonen’s year.” But when you average a .905 save percentage over the past two seasons, how much can you be trusted?
Some may laugh at this claim. But the fact of the matter is, this better be Kari’s year or he may as well pack up his things and await a new destination. The Dallas Stars finally hold some leverage in the Lehtonen situation, and they would be silly not to use it. Not so much as a scare tactic, but instead as motivation.
The Stars are around a month away from starting an action-packed 2016-17 season, and goaltending will be one of the points of emphasis. Dallas GM Jim Nill has proven that he is not shy in trading players since taking the reins for the Stars. If someone is underperforming or if there is a better fit, he’ll go out and get it.
This coming season, Lehtonen will have rumors dangling over his head with each passing game. With the expansion draft looming, the Tampa Bay Lightning are in a bind and will be forced to give up one of their goaltenders. The obvious choice at this point would be goalie Ben Bishop, who Dallas tried to trade for this offseason back near the NHL entry draft.
Lehtonen should now be able to feel the breath on his neck. He’s not officially gone yet, but Dallas is still trying to hunt Bishop down. If Lehtonen continues to post subpar numbers and semi-consistent numbers, Nill could go knocking. Meanwhile, Niemi remains as another good option for trade.
Next: Dallas Must Find Consistency This Coming Season
All in all, it comes down to skill and experience. Bishop continues to thrive with each passing season in his trips to the playoffs, while Niemi and Lehtonen can’t string a decent run together with the two of them. If the Stars pick up where they left off and continue to shine, a new goalie may not be necessary. But if things are piddling along, it may be time for a big change.
There’s still a chance for Kari Lehtonen to finally turn that contract into something big and make a splash this season. That being said, lay off of him (at least for one more year). We never know what could happen, but we do know the out that Nill can use if things go south. Keep that in mind as this season begins. The Big Finn has a lot of eyes resting on him this year.