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Kari Lehtonen

#32 · Goalie · Dallas Stars

Born Nov 16, 1983 in Helsinki, FIN · 6'4", 209 lb · Catches left · Drafted 2nd overall in 2002 by ATL (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2017-18. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jonathan Bernier COL · 37 GP, 0.913 Chad Johnson BUF · 36 GP, 0.891 Petr Mrazek PHI · 39 GP, 0.902 Anton Forsberg CHI · 35 GP, 0.908 Philipp Grubauer WSH · 35 GP, 0.923

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

02040602003-04: 4 games403-042005-06: 38 games3805-062006-07: 67 games6706-072007-08: 48 games4807-082008-09: 46 games4608-092009-10: 12 games1209-102010-11: 69 games6910-112011-12: 59 games5911-122012-13: 36 games3612-132013-14: 65 games6513-142014-15: 65 games6514-152015-16: 43 games4315-162016-17: 59 games5916-172017-18: 37 games3717-18

Games played by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save % Cap hit
2003-04 ATL 4 4001 106 101 5 1.25 0.953
2005-06 ATL 38 201502 1123 1017 106 2.94 0.906
2006-07 ATL 67 342484 2075 1892 183 2.79 0.912 $1.85M
2007-08 ATL 48 172254 1560 1429 131 2.90 0.916 $1.85M
2008-09 ATL 46 192233 1498 1364 134 3.06 0.911 $3M
2009-10 DAL 12 6400 350 319 31 2.81 0.911 $3M
2010-11 DAL 69 3424113 2043 1868 175 2.55 0.914 $3.55M
2011-12 DAL 59 322244 1739 1603 136 2.33 0.922 $3.55M
2012-13 DAL 36 151431 1050 962 88 2.66 0.916 $3.55M
2013-14 DAL 65 3320105 1888 1735 153 2.41 0.919 $5.9M
2014-15 DAL 65 3417105 1875 1694 181 2.94 0.903 $5.9M
2015-16 DAL 43 251022 1121 1016 105 2.76 0.906 $5.9M
2016-17 DAL 59 222573 1546 1395 151 2.85 0.902 $5.9M
2017-18 DAL 37 151431 946 863 83 2.56 0.912 $5.9M
14 seasons Career 648 3102336638 18920 17258 1662 2.71 0.912

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2006-07 ATL 2 0200 73 62 11 5.59 0.849
2013-14 DAL 6 2401 165 146 19 3.30 0.885
2015-16 DAL 11 6301 257 231 26 2.81 0.899
3 seasons Playoffs 19 8902 495 439 56 3.30 0.887

2017-18 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
37 30 151431 946 863 83 2.56 0.912

Contract

$5.9MCap hitends in 2018, then UFA
$945KCap dollars per goal above replacement6.2 goals above replacement
$2MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$3.9MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 56 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2017-18, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2017-18 $5.9M

Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2013-14 to 2017-18 $5.9M
2010-11 to 2012-13 $3.55M
2009-10 to 2009-10 $3M
2008-09 to 2008-09 $3M
2006-07 to 2007-08 $1.85M

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2017-18 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2017-18 analytics

Rating

+6.2Goals above replacement36th of 56 goalies
+1.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-2.0Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 56 ranked goalies: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. Goals above average is coloured as it is under Shots faced below, where it is taken per 60 minutes.

The goals he saved for his team, compared with a spare-part goalie facing the same shots. A goalie's season is about one-third the goalie and two-thirds chance, so read one year lightly. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

010203040502010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

Shots faced

Expected goals adds up how likely each shot he faced was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. A goalie who lets in fewer than that has saved goals above expected. Only shots taken while he was in net count, and the league's goalies as a whole come out at zero. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones. What these numbers mean

-2.0Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
81.0Expected goals againstfrom 1,322 unblocked attempts
83Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.912Save %0.914 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 58 goalies who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. The two goals against tiles are left plain, since they follow how much he played.

Goals saved -0.06 above expected per 60 minutes38th
Shot difficulty 6.1% chance per attempt faced17thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 58 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

020406080Game 10Game 20Game 30Allowed 83Expected 81.0

The goals he was expected to let in and the goals he did, as the season went on. When the allowed line runs below the expected line, he is saving more than his shots were worth.

Where he was shot at

Every unblocked attempt he faced this season, with his net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
Apr 7, 2018 @ LAK W 4-2 W 36 34 2 0.944 60:00
Apr 3, 2018 @ SJS W 4-2 14 12 2 0.857 15:54
Mar 31, 2018 vs MIN W 4-1 W 34 33 1 0.971 59:21
Mar 29, 2018 @ MIN L 2-5 L 21 17 4 0.810 57:47
Mar 27, 2018 vs PHI W 3-2 (OT) W 33 31 2 0.939 60:40
Mar 25, 2018 vs VAN L 1-4 L 26 23 3 0.885 57:54
Mar 23, 2018 vs BOS L 2-3 L 36 33 3 0.917 59:38
Mar 20, 2018 @ WSH L 3-4 L 32 28 4 0.875 59:39
Mar 18, 2018 @ WPG L 2-4 L 20 17 3 0.850 47:50
Mar 14, 2018 @ TOR L 5-6 (SO) OTL 33 28 5 0.848 65:00
Mar 13, 2018 @ MTL L 2-4 L 26 22 4 0.846 57:58
Mar 11, 2018 @ PIT L 1-3 L 29 27 2 0.931 58:23
Mar 9, 2018 vs ANA W 2-1 W 27 26 1 0.963 59:39
Mar 6, 2018 @ NSH L 0-2 L 33 32 1 0.970 59:05
Mar 5, 2018 vs OTT L 2-3 (OT) OTL 18 15 3 0.833 41:17
Feb 24, 2018 vs WPG L 3-5 L 21 17 4 0.810 31:59
Feb 22, 2018 @ LAK W 2-0 W, SO 18 18 0 1.000 60:00
Feb 18, 2018 @ SJS L 2-5 23 22 1 0.957 41:55
Feb 11, 2018 vs VAN L 0-6 21 19 2 0.905 35:19
Feb 9, 2018 vs PIT W 4-3 (SO) W 37 34 3 0.919 65:00
Feb 3, 2018 vs MIN W 6-1 W 31 30 1 0.968 60:00
Feb 1, 2018 @ ARI W 4-1 W 18 17 1 0.944 60:00
Jan 20, 2018 @ BUF W 7-1 W 27 26 1 0.963 60:00
Jan 15, 2018 @ BOS W 3-2 (OT) W 32 30 2 0.938 62:01
Dec 15, 2017 @ NJD L 2-5 L 25 21 4 0.840 58:10
Dec 13, 2017 @ NYI W 5-2 W 34 32 2 0.941 59:43
Dec 11, 2017 @ NYR W 2-1 (SO) W 25 24 1 0.960 65:00
Dec 7, 2017 @ STL L 0-3 L 26 24 2 0.923 58:32
Dec 5, 2017 vs NSH L 2-5 17 15 2 0.882 35:34
Dec 3, 2017 @ COL W 7-2 W 27 25 2 0.926 59:59
Nov 18, 2017 vs EDM W 6-3 12 9 3 0.750 20:42
Nov 14, 2017 @ FLA L 3-4 (SO) OTL 29 26 3 0.897 64:54
Nov 4, 2017 vs BUF W 5-1 W 28 27 1 0.964 60:00
Oct 27, 2017 @ CGY W 2-1 W 30 29 1 0.967 60:00
Oct 24, 2017 @ COL L 3-5 L 15 14 1 0.933 33:23
Oct 7, 2017 @ STL L 2-4 L 21 17 4 0.810 57:02
Oct 6, 2017 vs VGK L 1-2 L 11 9 2 0.818 15:00