Where Does Mikko Lehtonen Fit Into the Toronto Maple Leafs Lineup?

With the Toronto Maple Leafs signing what appears to be Europe’s top defenseman, their pathway to success seems to be a bit more clearer.

It was evident that Mikko Lehtonen was on his way to the NHL, but nobody thought he’d land with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On an entry-level contract worth $925,000, this signing makes the perfect experiment for Kyle Dubas to take on.

Since it’s a low-cost deal for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it could eventually be buried in the AHL, if things don’t work out for both sides. However, I highly doubt that will happen.

“Lehtonen is a prototypical modern defenseman with good mobility and lots of offensive talent.” Said Finnish writer, Miika Arponen in a DM on Twitter. “He isn’t a liability in the own end either, so think at least he is a solid pick-up for the third pair and PP2.”

You’re probably wondering the exact same thing I was while reading this, which was, “third pair?”

Lehtonen is likely going to get more than a third pairing role on the Toronto Maple Leafs (if he plays well in an NHL size rink). Since he’s not a liability in his own end, as Arponen states, he could fit into a top-two or top-four role.

On an entry-level deal, this is a steal for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and even one that could see Lehtonen playing on the right-side.

Although he’s a left-shot defenseman, the 26-year-old is versatile on both sides of the ice. He’s played on both the left and the right throughout his time in Europe, and could be a fit alongside either Morgan Rielly or Jake Muzzin (unless they’re paired together).

He’ll also fit on the second power play unit since it now looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs won’t re-sign Tyson Barrie. And although it may be Rasmus Sandin’s gig right now, again, there’s nothing wrong with experimenting.

The power play is where Lehtonen obtained most of his points in the KHL, so what’s the worst that could happen? Nothing.

It’s also never a bad idea to have too many good defenseman, it’s a fairly good problem to have, actually. Their depth increases tremendously with the signing of Lehtonen. And yes, there may be an odd defenseman out, such as Timothy Liljegren or someone else.

But at the end of the day, it makes the Toronto Maple Leafs more powerful, which will help in the long run with achieving a certain success (I don’t want to jinx it).