Adrian Dater
As I start to write, there are still 21 minutes left until the expiration of the NHL trade deadline. The Avs pulled off a couple deals in the final hour – Artturi Lehkonen from the Montreal Canadiens for 2020 first-round pick Justin Barron and a second-rounder in 2024. And, they got veteran left winger Andrew Cogliano from the San Jose Sharks for a 2024 fifth-round pick.
The big deal, obviously, was the Lehkonen deal, and my first reaction was: I don’t like it. I have been on record saying trading Justin Barron for a rental would be a big mistake.
But now? I like the deal more, after talking to two people in Montreal who are very dialed in on the team and speak the truth. And, because Lehkonen isn’t a rental. While his contract is up after this season, he’s a restricted free agent (with arbitration rights). So, at least he can’t walk away for nothing, like Josh Manson, Nico Sturm (and Claude Giroux) could.
Here’s what one super-dialed in Habs watcher said on Lehkonen, in a detailed scouting report:
“Lehkonen is an underrated player. Does all the little things well. Very responsible defensively. Very reliable. Kills penalties, low maintenance. He is a coach’s dream. He’s VERY good defensively.”
And, more:
“He has offensive limitations, however. Never scored more than 18 goals. He’s a third-line role player. He got hot for a span of 2-3 weeks in the last month and that probably increased his value.”
Another top Canadiens watcher told me this:
“Lehkonen is an excellent player. I’d have done the deal too. I assume they didn’t have a choice if they really wanted the player. And they should have really wanted the player. They weren’t the only team after him.”
OK, that sounds pretty good. But I still think trading Barron will hurt in the longer run. That said, this is a team with four really good young D already on the team – Toews, Makar, Girard and Byram – all with term and future ahead with this team. I think a big key will be whether Joe Sakic can sign Josh Manson to a new deal this summer. Then, I won’t wince as much when thinking about Barron – who I talked to 36 hours ago and got his thoughts on his name being in trade rumors.
Lehkonen, I’ve seen play a bit and, yeah, he’s got some tools. It seems like he could be a nice third-line guy on a very good team. But I worry that the Avs bought high on a guy who seems like he’s pretty streak offensively. He had 13 goals and 29 points in 58 games with the Habs this year. He’s got 149 points in 396 NHL games. He’s got six goals and 12 points in 33 career playoff games.
Yeah, uh, not bad. But, worth a former first-round pick (Barron) and a second-rounder in 2024? A little steep, IMO. It’s nice that the Habs retained half his cap hit, which is nice.
As far as Andrew Cogliano goes, I’ve always liked him as a player. He’s very durable, tough on his skates, smart and…past his prime. The hope is, he has enough left in the tank for a nice showing with this team for the playoffs. I would say that the final 20 games will be something of an open audition between him and guys like Darren Helm and Nicolas Aube-Kubel for a fourth-line playoff job. Those guys probably will platoon a bit down the stretch.
Kubel did some nice things after coming over from Philly, but he has no playoff experience and his play was tailing off some lately. Helm probably doesn’t feel too great with three new depth guys coming here. His role with the team, like I said, might be an audition from this point on. But it would seem like Helm is getting pushed out of the lineup.
Cogliano, I’m telling you, is a very good, smart player. Does he have the wheels he used to? No, but he’s got a ton of experience, played on a lot of winning teams. I think this will be an underrated move.
Here are some notes from Joe Sakic’s postgame presser:
This is my predicted playoff lineup, barring injuries:
Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Nichushkin-Kadri-Burakovsky
Lehkonen-Newhook-Compher
Cogliano-Sturm-O’Connor
D
Toews-Makar
Girard-Manson
Byram-E. Johnson
If Byram can’t go for any reason, I’d expect Jack Johnson to stay in top six and Ryan Murray would be extra guy.
Let’s face it folks: this is a very stacked lineup. Is Darcy Kuemper up to leading a team to a Cup? Is Pavel Francouz good enough in case he gets hurt? That’s probably the only thing the national pundits, like John Tortorella (who said today that he likes Colorado to go to the Cup Finals, but that he still has questions about the goaltending) are saying.
It’s going to be quite a battle for the Cup. There are some other real good teams out there. Can we just start the playoffs now?
A couple of extra notes: Sakic said Avs thought they still had a shot on Giroux until late that night/next morning of Giroux’s 1,000th game, Thursday night in Philly. Lehkonen will have to deal with some immigration red tape, which is a pain in the arse in 2022. So, it could be a few days before he’s here.