Artturi Lehkonen signs two-year contract extension with Montreal Canadiens

With his entry-level contract expired, Artturi Lehkonen has extended his stay with the Montreal Canadiens by another two years.

The contract has a cap hit of $2.4 million, just under the $2.6 million of Joel Armia signed earlier today.

The Finnish winger developed in Finland and Sweden before jumping right into the NHL, being a regular in the Canadiens’ lineup over the past three seasons. He hit a new career high of 31 points in 2018-19 despite a lengthy scoring slump.

Offence is just part of Lehkonen’s game. He has been a very good possession player in his short career, with the trust of the coaching staff in defensive situations. Only Phillip Danault (202:16) played more minutes on the penalty kill in 2018-19 than Lehkonen (186:13).

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Lehkonen was one of three players who spent the 2018-19 season on the Canadiens roster who were heading for restricted free agency. Charles Hudon remains the team’s top restricted free agent unsigned.