Dallas Stars: Kari Lehtonen’s Five Best Moments As A Star

July 1 came with a fair share of new chapters for the Dallas Stars organization. But it also closed the book on a few certain chapters. With Kari Lehtonen’s time as a Star finished, let’s take a look back at some of his brightest and most exciting moments with the franchise.

One of the biggest moves the Dallas Stars made on July 1 involved signing goaltender Anton Khudobin to a two-year deal.

After a slightly above average year from their crease, the Stars focused on adding goaltending depth in the offseason. While their goalie prospects of the future grow and develop in the farm system, they need stability to help them in their fight back to the playoffs.

That’s where Khudobin comes in. As a nine-year veteran in the NHL, Khudobin has played for four different teams. For each of those years, he’s either played in a backup or dual-starter role, so he knows the job well.

And that’s just what the Dallas Stars need from him. With Ben Bishop playing the role of starter but only starting 51 games last season, the Stars need a confident number two as a safety net. If Bishop goes down with an injury or hits a cold streak, Khudobin’s numbers and reputation should be enough to carry Dallas on.

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It’s a cheap deal with a short term and hopefully gives the Dallas Stars what they need: reliability.

But while the team welcomed in a new backup for the season ahead, it came with a rather difficult goodbye. After almost nine full seasons with the Stars, Kari Lehtonen will not wear a Stars uniform next year.

Lehtonen and the Stars have become almost synonymous over nearly the past decade. Ever since Feb. 9, 2010 when the Stars traded for the 26-year-old goaltender, there has been a connection.

He served as the starter for the majority of his time in Dallas and racked up 445 total games played. That’s the second most in not just Dallas Stars history, but franchise history (dating back to 1967). The only goalie he trails is Marty Turco.

That’s a pretty impressive feat to carry. In addition, he also leads all Finnish-born goaltenders in games played with 649 and picked up his 300th career win this past season in Dallas.

In his time with the Stars, he posted a record of 216-150-50 along with a .912 save percentage and 2.63 goals against average. And whether you loved him, hated him, or had mixed feelings in his time with the Stars, one thing is for sure: he left a lasting impact on the team and the community.

After so many years as the starter or dual-starter, the 34-year-old took a step back in 2017-18 to serve as the backup. He played impressively until Bishop fell victim to an injury and Lehtonen was once again called on to be the starter in a critical part of the season. And, as you already know, it didn’t pan out.

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Dallas missed the postseason and with Lehtonen sitting as a pending UFA, the writing was on the wall that they would part with the longtime Star. They also said goodbye to longtime Star Antoine Roussel, but not even the French forward has as lasting of a legacy as Lehtonen.

Lehtonen is still one of the few quality UFAs left on the market without a new home. And while it might sting a bit to say goodbye to such a cornerstone piece of the Dallas Stars over the past few seasons, it’s believed to be in the best interest of the team.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t save the memories.

Before we officially close the chapter on Lehtonen’s legacy with Dallas, let’s take a look at some of his most larcenous saves and best moments.

Full disclosure: it’s hard to put eight years of memories into one slideshow. And on top of that, not all of the great memories that you may remember are in video form on YouTube or somewhere else on the web. So, we included the top memories that were compatible on video.

Oh, and here’s an honorable mention just to get you warmed up and ready.

Now, take a walk down memory lane with us.