Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar sit in a class of their own for the Colorado Avalanche. After that, the conversation gets interesting fast. If you’re trying to name the team’s third-most valuable player, Artturi Lehkonen has a strong case.
Lehkonen may not draw the same spotlight as Colorado’s two headliners, but his impact keeps showing up in all the ways winning teams need. MacKinnon’s line mate has become one of those players who does the hard stuff that makes the stars shine brighter.
He arrived in Colorado during the 2021-22 season after five years with the Canadiens. Montreal got 58 games from him that year, then he played 16 more for the Avalanche to finish out the regular season.
Since then, his production has taken another step. His best goal total with Montreal came in his rookie year, when he scored 18.
In three of his five seasons with the Avalanche, he has topped that mark.
MacKinnon knows exactly what Lehkonen brings. In April, he said:
"He’s always a special player in the playoffs,” MacKinnon said. “I think the style of game he plays thrives in the playoffs.
He plays a very hard, inside game. He has such a great attitude.
Every shift he’s going to give it his all and play his best, so we’re lucky to have him."
Nathan MacKinnon on Artturi Lehkonen
That kind of praise fits the player. Lehkonen is effective in the offensive zone, but his value stretches well beyond scoring chances.
He forechecks with purpose, handles the ugly work that opens space for teammates like MacKinnon, and makes life miserable for defenders around the crease. He also has a real talent for getting his stick on pucks and turning ordinary looks into deflections that are tough for goalies to track.
He doesn’t need to dominate a game to matter. Lehkonen is the kind of complementary piece every elite team wants, and Colorado is already elite. Still, if he finds another gear, that only raises the Avalanche’s ceiling.
His rise in Colorado has been hard to miss. The trade clearly gave him a new spark, much like Valeri Nichushkin’s game sharpened once he landed in a stronger environment. Lehkonen doesn’t get the same recognition playing next to MacKinnon, but that doesn’t make his work any less important.
Sometimes the right change of scenery unlocks more than a player had shown before.
One place where Lehkonen could still grow is on the power play. The Avalanche as a whole struggled there last season, and Lehkonen finished with just one goal and one assist on the man advantage despite taking 24 power-play shots. If assistant coach Dave Hakstol can sort out that part of the game, Colorado’s attack could become even harder to stop, and Lehkonen should be part of that solution.
His net-front presence could be especially valuable there. Having another body in the middle creates traffic, makes it harder for goaltenders to see the puck, and fits naturally with the way he already plays.
Lehkonen should remain one of the Avalanche’s most important pieces. If Colorado is going to get back to the Stanley Cup Final, they need him doing exactly what he does best.
In Other News...
Cale Makar Contract Talk Just Shifted In A Fascinating Direction
Across the league, the defense market is already starting to reshape itself, and that matters for Colorado as much as anyone. Erik Karlssons future could become a trade storyline if Pittsburgh slips out of playoff contention, the Red Wings are trying to sort out their management situation while working through Simon Edvinssons deal, and Quinn Hughes talks are moving slowly enough to keep attention on Minnesotas side of the board.
For the Avalanche, though, the focus stays on Cale Makar and the belief that a new contract will get done before the season starts. Colorado has every reason to want that kind of certainty in place early, especially with the rest of the leagues top defensemen still tied up in one form of negotiation or another, and the timing of those other situations only adds to the sense that the market is shifting around them while they work toward their own finish line. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Enter Camp With One Big Reason For Real Cup Belief
A healthy start has become one of the clearest reasons for optimism around Colorado heading into training camp, and Joe Sakic said the Avalanche expect to arrive in mid-September with the roster in good shape barring any late setbacks. After a season shaped by early absences, the sense around the organization is that the team is better positioned to show what it can really be when its core is available and the standards are where they need to be.
Sakic pointed to the talent on hand and the changes made around it as reasons to believe the Avalanche can again be a legitimate contender. The last season still offered proof of how competitive this group can be even when circumstances were far from ideal, and now the focus shifts to whether a cleaner bill of health can let that upside show from the start. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Front Office Earns A Boost As Pressure Builds To Deliver
The Avalanche head into another season with the same lofty expectations that have followed them since lifting the Stanley Cup in 2022, but the pressure around the organization has only grown after another frustrating postseason finish in 2026. For a team that has spent the better part of eight straight seasons talking like a contender, the standard is no longer just getting in the mix, but breaking through after a stretch in which playoff results have fallen short of what the roster has suggested.
There is at least a small sign of goodwill around the front office, though, with a recent fan vote placing Colorado ninth in confidence and marking an improvement from the previous year. That does not erase the postseason disappointment or lower the urgency to deliver, but it does suggest some supporters still believe the group in charge can navigate the next step. For a franchise that has not won more than eight games in the playoffs or taken a Game 7 series since the title run, the margin for patience keeps shrinking. [Read more 🡒]