Kari Lehtonen

Kari Lehtonen (born November 16, 1983) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played parts of fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Atlanta Thrashers and Dallas Stars. He also played for Jokerit of the SM-liiga (SM-l)

Career
Before playing in the NHL, Lehtonen played 72 games in the SM-liiga with Jokerit. During his time there, he was able to win the Urpo Ylönen trophy, which is given to the best goalie of the season, as well as the Jari Kurri trophy, the league's playoff MVP award.

He was drafted with the 2nd overall pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. This made him the highest drafted European goaltender and highest Finnish player ever in NHL history. Lehtonen played 4 seasons with the Thrashers before he was traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Ivan Vishnevskiy and a 4th round draft pick (Ivan Telegin) on February 9, 2010. As soon as he was traded, Lehtonen signed a three-year, $10.65 million contract extension with the Stars.

On September 4, 2012, Lehtonen signed a five-year, $29.5 million contract to remain with the Stars.

In 2018, Lehtonen retired from playing professional ice hockey.

References

 Other websites 

Category:1983 births
Category:Living people
Category:Atlanta Thrashers players
Category:Chicago Wolves players
Category:Dallas Stars players
Category:Finnish ice hockey goaltenders
Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Finland
Category:Sportspeople from Helsinki