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.
5. Lehtonen’s Heroics With The Left Pad
This one is an automatic top save for Kari Lehtonen’s highlight reel. And it’s not just Stars fans that know it; YouTube knows it, too.
If you go on the popular video sharing site and type in Kari Lehtonen save, this is the first video that comes up. That’s just how popular and well-known it is.
The day was Nov. 1, 2013, and the Dallas Stars were only a handful of games into their 2013-14 campaign. It was their first season in a competitive and talent-heavy Central Division. With a new coach, new look, new captain, and new faces, the Stars were in for a tough battle. After all, it’s always difficult to adapt to significant change.
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But the Stars were holding their own through the first three weeks of the season. They were 5-6-1 through the month of October and were hanging tough in their new division.
On the first day of the month, they welcomed the Colorado Avalanche to town. It was just their second meeting of the season, with the Avs taking a 3-2 win in the first game.
The game on Nov. 1 didn’t start out in the best way for Dallas, either. Colorado scored the first two goals of the game in the first two periods behind tallies from Paul Stastny (doesn’t that make this feel like forever ago?) and Gabriel Landeskog. Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov was shutting the door in the Avalanche crease.
Kari Lehtonen was putting up as solid of a fight as he could, turning aside 16/18 in the first two frames.
Alex Goligoski helped cut the lead in half early in the third period, but Colorado continued their push. And with 15:26 left in the third, it happened.
After being turned around in his own crease and tangled up, Lehtonen came up with one of the best saves of his career. Take a look.
He found a way to bring his leg back around and kick the puck out of the danger zone before covering it up. He also got his glove up in case the shot went high. That’s called extra precaution.
It’s hard to say that this isn’t a show stopping save, especially considering the Stars eventually tied the game up and sent it to overtime before falling to an OT goal against.
But every point mattered greatly in that season for the Dallas Stars (considering they made the postseason by two points). Lehtonen was a big reason why they got one in that game by keeping it close with an incredible save.
4. You Shall Not Pass
Calling Kari Lehtonen a flashy goaltender isn’t necessarily a stretch. He knows how to make big saves and make them look as exquisite as possible.
And coming in at number four on our countdown might just be one of his flashiest saves of all.
On January 2, 2014, the Dallas Stars were getting the 2014 part of their season underway. After an impressive December stretch (8-3-4) to close out the calendar year, Dallas found themselves in the thick of the playoff race. But the race wasn’t slowing down, and a lot was required of the Stars if they wanted a Stanley Cup Playoff berth for the first time in five years.
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Things didn’t start out on the best note. The Stars lost six in a row in regulation to start the month of January. Some were close matchups, others were absolute blowouts. It wasn’t the most encouraging of sights as Dallas quietly slipped out of the playoff picture.
This whole skid started on Jan. 2 in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Habs came to visit the Stars, who owned an impressive 20-12-7 record and boasted a seven-game point streak. They had already faced off once, with the Canadiens picking up the 2-1 win back in October.
This game ended in a high-scoring 6-4 decision, with Montreal claiming the two points. But it’s not to say that Dallas didn’t put up a good fight.
After finding themselves down 4-2, the Stars bounced back with goals from Tyler Seguin and Brenden Dillon to tie the game. And there were also some incredible saves from the Big Finn that kept it close.
Montreal took a 5-4 lead midway through the third period and continued to push. And with 6:10 left, it looked as though they had their sixth goal. But Lehtonen had other plans.
He went complete Gandalf on David Desharnais on a breakaway. As Desharnais pulled a move near the crease and caught Lehtonen out of position, the goalie quickly recovered by flipping onto his back and putting the stick blade on the ice.
If Kari could have yelled, “YOU SHALL NOT PASS,” he probably would have. This was a thrilling save made extra spectacular with an incredible effort from Lehtonen.
Tantalizing, larcenous, stunning, etc. You could use any of Razor’s adjectives for this one.
3. LA Goes Speechless At Kari’s Glove
“Forget it. It’s over. Save of the year. Wow.”
These were the first words out of Daryl Reaugh‘s mouth immediately following a miraculous save by Kari Lehtonen.
On Nov. 13, 2014, the Dallas Stars were in Los Angeles for the second and final game of a short road trip out West. They had just met up with the Kings nine days before at the AAC, with LA taking the 3-1 victory. On top of that, the Stars were riding a bit of a disappointing skid.
Dallas had won two days prior against Arizona in a narrow 4-3 decision. It was their first victory since Oct. 24. Between those two days, the Stars had crumbled to an 0-5-2 record. It tied their longest losing streak of the regular season and helped pin them behind in the playoff race early in the 2014-15 season.
Dallas Stars
So, a win against LA was needed to start building some momentum and carrying the team back towards a positive direction.
The Stars jumped on the Kings early and came bursting out of the gate. Ryan Garbutt scored halfway through the first period and Jason Spezza added on another tally in the second to give Dallas the 2-0 lead.
The surprising part of the game, though, was Lehtonen’s composure. After a shaky start to what would eventually become a shaky year, Lehtonen didn’t necessarily have the most impressive streak going. He had only won one of his previous five starts and needed a big performance against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
And he made it happen. Lehtonen held strong through the first period, but faced a storm after Dallas took the 2-0 lead in the second and sat back as a result. He stopped all 14 shots faced, including a sensational glove save on Jarrett Stoll.
It took place on an offensive rush by LA that involved plenty of puck movement and shifting. Stoll found the puck on the far side with Lehtonen hugging the wrong post. But after a flailing move and a perfectly placed glove, the Big Finn made the grab of the year.
It’s hard to argue that this wasn’t one of Lehtonen’s greatest moments in the Stars crease. You may say that it was a bit lucky or you may argue that it was complete skill and attention to detail.
Either way, the Dallas Stars goaltender made the Staples Center go quiet with an unreal save that eventually led to an impressive shutout.
Just pure, unadulterated larceny.
2. Kari Makes A Blind Save With The Glove
There’s a lot to like about this one. In fact, I would venture to make the argument that this was Lehtonen’s most impressive save as a member of the Stars. Let’s break it down.
This one goes all the way back to the shortened season of 2012-13. After a lockout caused the NHL to lose the typical playing months of October, November, and December, a deal was finally struck. The NHL and NHLPA agreed on a new CBA and put a shortened season into motion starting in mid-January 2013.
Only 48 games made up the 2013 slate, with no cross-conference games scheduled. That being said, the Dallas Stars saw a lot of the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, and San Jose Sharks. But they also saw a fair amount of teams that are no longer in the Western Conference but were in 2013, such as Detroit and Columbus.
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And it was in a game against the Blue Jackets when Lehtonen pulled off a stunning stop. It was one of the first contests of the season for Dallas, who was 2-2-1 at the time. They were on an average pace to start the year, but it makes sense when you look at how the team finished.
Philip Larsen started the game off with a power play goal in the second period to give Dallas the 1-0 lead. But Derek Dorsett scored near the end of the period and Vinny Prospal tallied a goal early in the third to shift the advantage.
Columbus would go on to win the game 2-1, but that’s not why we’re talking about it.
The reason we’re talking about this game is because of a certain save made by Kari Lehtonen.
In the first few seconds of the second period, the Dallas Stars were finishing up a penalty kill. As Columbus entered the zone, a pass was dropped back to defenseman Jack Johnson who made his way into the left circle where he fired a shot.
Lehtonen made the initial stop, getting a piece of the puck with his glove. But considering the placement of the glove wasn’t completely precise and the shot had speed behind it, the puck bounced from his hand and moved towards the net. But then, he did it.
The Big Finn literally reached BEHIND his back without looking and grabbed the puck out of midair. If you haven’t been a Stars fan for more than five seasons, you might not remember this save. But with this fantastic move, there’s no way we can leave it out of the countdown.
Kari Lehtonen isn’t just a goaltender. He can do magic, too.
1. The Best Kari Lehtonen Moment Of All
Kari Lehtonen has a handful of truly great moments in a Dallas Stars uniform. There’s no doubting that.
Whether it was heartily swinging his stick where the sun don’t shine on an opposing player or knocking players out of his line of sight with ferocity, Lehtonen’s behavior was one of a kind.
The pinnacle of his uniqueness as a goaltender came on Nov. 14, 2013.
Dallas was one month into the 2013-14 season and, as we mentioned before, still looking for their new identity. Visiting the Flames in Nov. 2013 might have been a good first step in finding that identity.
The Dallas Stars absolutely dominated in the game from the drop of the puck. Stephane Robidas scored the only goal in the first period to gain the 1-0 lead. In the second period, the Stars busted open their offensive strike with four more goals, including two from Tyler Seguin and one from Jamie Benn.
Dallas ended up winning the game 7-3. Seguin (four goals, five points) and Benn (one goal, six points) led the charge and put together their first dominant showing as a top-line duo. Half of the Stars’ skaters tallied at least one point in the blowout.
But as surprising as it may seem, Seguin’s hat trick and Benn’s six points weren’t the most intriguing moments of the game. Kari Lehtonen claimed that title with 12.3 seconds to go in the game.
With the game all but over and a face-off pending in the other zone, Lehtonen decided to hop on top of his net and take a load off. He only sat up there for a few seconds, but it was enough to draw plenty of attention and laughter from the Stars faithful (and a few Calgary fans in attendance).
Some may think it plain old silly or unreasonable, but it was classic Kari. That’s just the kind of goaltender he was for the Dallas Stars: one-of-a-kind and oh so unique.
One of my favorite things about Kari is that he genuinely cares about every single person that works for the Stars.
— Colleen (@c0lleenhamilton) July 11, 2018
Today, he bought our entire office lunch as a thank you. 😭💚 pic.twitter.com/qJsYdhYPaR
As the Dallas Stars move onto a new duo and look to the future in their crease, it’s important to remember where they came from. Kari Lehtonen may not have been the best goaltender in the NHL, but he was a solid option for Dallas and helped carry them through some doubtful times. And though he never lifted the Stanley Cup, he made a lasting impression on the Stars that won’t soon be forgotten.
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Memories are made to last, and that’s just what we have here. Thanks, Kari. Good luck in your next adventure, whatever and wherever it may be.
Keep Calm and Kari On.