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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 2016-17. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Robin Lehner BUF · 59 GP, 0.920 Cory Schneider NJD · 60 GP, 0.908 Peter Budaj TBL · 60 GP, 0.915 Steve Mason PHI · 58 GP, 0.908 Cam Ward CAR · 61 GP, 0.905

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

2016-17 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
59 52 222573 1546 1395 151 2.85 0.902

Contract

$5.9MCap hitends in 2018, then UFA
$394KCap dollars per goal above replacement15.0 goals above replacement
$3.8MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$2.1MValueworth 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 53 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, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2016-17 $5.9M
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 2016-17 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.

2016-17 analytics

Rating

+15.0Goals above replacement16th of 53 goalies
+2.5Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.4Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 53 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. 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

-0.4Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
150.6Expected goals againstfrom 2,214 unblocked attempts
151Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.902Save %0.903 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 55 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 -0.01 above expected per 60 minutes49th
Shot difficulty 6.8% chance per attempt faced96thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 55 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

050100150Game 10Game 20Game 30Game 40Game 50Allowed 151Expected 150.6

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 8, 2017 vs COL W 4-3 (SO) W 24 21 3 0.875 65:00
Apr 6, 2017 vs NSH L 3-7 L 26 21 5 0.808 46:58
Apr 2, 2017 @ TBL L 3-6 L 24 19 5 0.792 58:59
Apr 1, 2017 @ CAR W 3-0 W, SO 25 25 0 1.000 60:00
Mar 28, 2017 @ MTL L 1-4 L 36 32 4 0.889 59:58
Mar 26, 2017 @ NJD W 2-1 (OT) W 21 20 1 0.952 60:18
Mar 24, 2017 vs SJS W 6-1 W 21 20 1 0.952 60:00
Mar 23, 2017 @ CHI L 2-3 (SO) OTL 26 24 2 0.923 65:00
Mar 20, 2017 vs SJS W 1-0 W, SO 30 30 0 1.000 59:30
Mar 17, 2017 @ CGY L 1-3 L 24 21 3 0.875 58:40
Mar 16, 2017 @ VAN W 4-2 W 28 26 2 0.929 60:00
Mar 14, 2017 @ EDM L 1-7 9 7 2 0.778 28:31
Mar 12, 2017 @ SJS L 1-5 L 8 5 3 0.625 23:11
Mar 8, 2017 vs OTT L 2-5 L 18 15 3 0.833 23:21
Mar 6, 2017 @ WSH W 4-2 W 44 42 2 0.955 60:00
Mar 4, 2017 @ FLA W 2-1 W 42 41 1 0.976 60:00
Feb 26, 2017 vs BOS L 3-6 L 28 22 6 0.786 60:00
Feb 24, 2017 vs ARI W 5-2 W 27 25 2 0.926 60:00
Feb 18, 2017 vs TBL W 4-3 (OT) W 37 34 3 0.919 63:47
Feb 16, 2017 @ MIN L 1-3 L 26 23 3 0.885 58:17
Feb 12, 2017 @ NSH L 3-5 L 35 31 4 0.886 58:11
Feb 11, 2017 vs CAR W 5-2 W 24 22 2 0.917 59:55
Feb 9, 2017 @ OTT L 2-3 L 26 24 2 0.923 58:33
Feb 4, 2017 vs CHI L 3-5 L 35 31 4 0.886 58:23
Feb 2, 2017 vs WPG L 3-4 L 29 25 4 0.862 58:04
Jan 31, 2017 vs TOR W 6-3 W 43 40 3 0.930 60:00
Jan 26, 2017 vs BUF W 4-3 W 22 21 1 0.955 40:00
Jan 24, 2017 vs MIN L 2-3 (SO) OTL 33 31 2 0.939 64:38
Jan 21, 2017 vs WSH L 3-4 (OT) OTL 22 18 4 0.818 60:19
Jan 19, 2017 @ NYI L 0-3 L 35 33 2 0.943 56:32
Jan 17, 2017 @ NYR W 7-6 12 12 0 1.000 12:34
Jan 16, 2017 @ BUF L 1-4 L 28 25 3 0.893 56:58
Jan 14, 2017 vs MIN L 4-5 L 28 26 2 0.929 54:35
Jan 9, 2017 @ LAK W 6-4 21 17 4 0.810 45:18
Jan 7, 2017 @ STL L 3-4 14 11 3 0.786 27:51
Jan 4, 2017 vs MTL L 3-4 (OT) OTL 33 29 4 0.879 60:19
Dec 31, 2016 vs FLA L 1-3 18 18 0 1.000 40:21
Dec 29, 2016 vs COL W 4-2 W 14 13 1 0.929 44:43
Dec 27, 2016 @ ARI W 3-2 W 37 35 2 0.946 59:30
Dec 23, 2016 vs LAK W 3-2 (OT) W 31 29 2 0.935 61:07
Dec 11, 2016 @ CHI L 1-3 L 27 24 3 0.889 58:30
Dec 10, 2016 @ PHI L 2-4 L 21 18 3 0.857 59:39
Dec 8, 2016 vs NSH W 5-2 W 36 34 2 0.944 60:00
Dec 6, 2016 vs CGY L 1-2 L 20 18 2 0.900 58:37
Dec 3, 2016 @ COL W 3-0 W, SO 23 23 0 1.000 59:58
Nov 29, 2016 @ DET L 1-3 L 19 17 2 0.895 58:03
Nov 23, 2016 @ NSH L 2-5 L 20 16 4 0.800 59:08
Nov 19, 2016 vs EDM L 2-5 L 13 9 4 0.692 26:17
Nov 17, 2016 vs COL W 3-2 W 36 34 2 0.944 60:00
Nov 13, 2016 @ VAN L 4-5 (OT) OTL 30 25 5 0.833 61:27
Nov 11, 2016 @ EDM W 3-2 W 42 40 2 0.952 60:00
Nov 10, 2016 @ CGY W 4-2 W 31 29 2 0.935 59:51
Nov 8, 2016 @ WPG L 2-8 L 11 7 4 0.636 30:07
Nov 6, 2016 @ CHI L 3-4 (OT) OTL 33 29 4 0.879 64:07
Oct 29, 2016 @ MIN L 0-4 L 15 11 4 0.733 60:00
Oct 22, 2016 vs CBJ L 0-3 L 25 23 2 0.920 59:26
Oct 20, 2016 vs LAK L 3-4 (OT) OTL 39 35 4 0.897 60:42
Oct 18, 2016 @ NSH W 2-1 W 28 27 1 0.964 59:59
Oct 15, 2016 @ COL L 5-6 L 13 12 1 0.923 31:57