SIGN OF THE TIMES
Lehtonen leaving KHL for Leafs may be a signal the season will start on schedule.
Mikko Lehtonen’s departure for Toronto from his KHL team Thursday wasn’t surprising, but it might be a sign of hope that the NHL will open its 2020-21 season on time.
Lehtonen’s KHL team, Jokerit, announced Friday that the two sides had mutually agreed to terminate his contract for the purpose of his move to Toronto.
The 26-year-old defenceman, who signed a one-year deal with the Maple Leafs in May, had been on loan to Jokerit with the NHL season on hold.
The NHL is hoping to start Jan. 1, although COVID-19 and a difficult swing in negotiations between the league and the NHLPA have put that date in doubt.
Lehtonen, who tested positive for COVID-19 while in Finland, will have to quarantine in Toronto for 14 days once he arrives, as will any players coming from outside Canada. That quarantine should be done by mid-December, when NHL teams hope to open two-week training camps.
Toronto is expecting five players in its NHL camp who have been playing in Europe, including 41-year-old centre Joe Thornton. There has been no indication Thornton has left his Swiss league team in Davos.
The others are Swiss forward Denis Malgin (Lausanne), Russian forward Egor Korshkov (Yaroslavl) and Swedish forward Filip Hallander (Lulea).
Lehtonen was named KHL defenceman of the year last
season, and will certainly challenge for a spot among the Leafs’ top six blueliners. He was averaging a point a game in the KHL, with eight goals and nine assists in 17 games. He was
sidelined from Oct. 21 to Nov. 10 after his positive test.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said this week competition will be intense for jobs on the third defensive pairing and on the bottom two forward lines.
Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Jake Muzzin and Justin Holl are expected to form the first two defensive pairings, with Lehtonen, Travis Dermott, Zach Bogosian and Rasmus Sandin among the contenders for the fifth and sixth spots.
Non-roster defencemen Mac Hallowell, Martin Marincin, Calle Rosen, Timothy Liljegren and Teemu Kivihalme will also be pushing for jobs.
Note: Three Leafs prospects are on the 28-player Russian roster preparing for the 2021 world junior championship in Edmonton next month — forwards Rodion Amirov (the 15th pick in the 2020 NHL draft), Mikhail Abramov (115th, 2019) and goalie Artur Akhtyamov (106th, 2020).