Kari Lehtonen (born November 16, 1983) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Thrashers and Dallas Stars. He was selected second overall in the 2002 NHL entry draft by the Thrashers, becoming the highest-drafted European goaltender, as well as being tied with Patrik Laine, Alexander Barkov and Kaapo Kakko for the highest-drafted Finnish player in NHL history.
Lehtonen was born on November 16, 1983, in Helsinki, Finland. He is the son to parents Martti and Marja Lehtonen. He also has a sister, Kirsi, and an older brother, Kimmo. His father owns a tire dealership and his mother is a nurse. Lehtonen began picking up an interest in hockey at the age of five, following his brother to his team practices, before he started playing goalie at seven years old, with the help of his personal goalie coach helping him learn the position.
Lehtonen was drafted second overall in the 2002 NHL entry draft by the Atlanta Thrashers after an outstanding 2001–02 season in the Finnish SM-liiga and became the highest-drafted European goaltender. Lehtonen was the backup goalie for Jokerit, but captured the starting position and won the Urpo Ylönen trophy, given to the best goalie of the season, and the league's playoff MVP award, the Jari Kurri trophy. Lehtonen stayed with Jokerit for one more season before moving to North America. He was awarded the Urpo Ylönen trophy again in the 2002–03 season.
After posting a 39–19–9 record, nine shutouts and a 1.91 goals-against average in 72 career games, between 2000 to 2003 with Jokerit, he officially signed with the Atlanta Thrashers in June 2003. During the 2003–04 season, Lehtonen mostly spent his time with the Chicago Wolves, the Thrashers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, but he was called up for a number of occasions and played four games for the Thrashers, winning all four of them and posting one shutout. In the four games with the Thrashers, he posted a .953 save percentage and 1.25 goals against average (GAA). He earned his first shutout in the NHL on March 27, 2004, against the Florida Panthers, making 30 saves.
Lehtonen spent the 2004–05 NHL lockout season with the Wolves, adjusting to the North American playing style. He earned the AHL Second All-Star Team recognition that season and was the 2005 Calder Cup finalist. After playing 57 games for the Wolves, of which he won 38, posting .929 save percentage and 2.27 GAA, the Thrashers called him up, and Lehtonen started the 2005–06 season as the starting goalie for Atlanta. However, he failed to stay healthy for most of the season. On the opening night of the 2005–06 season, Lehtonen suffered a serious groin injury when Florida Panthers centre Nathan Horton collided with him. The injury sidelined him for the first half of the season. Lehtonen was once again injured on April 6, 2006, when Tampa Bay Lightning forward Chris Dingman collided with him; Lehtonen tried to get to his feet, but sprained his ankle in the process.
Shortly into the 2006–07 season, Lehtonen broke the Atlanta Thrashers shutout streak record previously held by Michael Garnett. The streak lasted 167 minutes and 56 seconds, before it was snapped by P.J. Axelsson of the Boston Bruins. He also set his career highs in every category. AirTran Airways, a low-cost airline, signed Lehtonen as an endorser for the 2006–07 season. On February 8, 2007, Lehtonen became the Thrashers franchise leader for wins by a goaltender with 49, surpassing Pasi Nurminen's record of 48. On April 12, 2007, Lehtonen was the starting goaltender for the Thrashers in their first Stanley Cup playoff game. He played two games in the playoffs losing both of them, where he allowed four goals in the first and allowed seven goals on 35 shots in the second.
After a rough start to the 2007–08 season, Lehtonen suffered another groin injury on October 18, 2007. He would miss 16 games before returning on December 5, 2007. He finished the season with a respectable save percentage of .916 to go along with four shutouts as the Thrashers failed to qualify for the 2008 playoffs.
In 2009, Lehtonen re-signed with the Atlanta Thrashers to a one-year, $3 million deal, after posting a 19–22–3 record with three shutouts, a 3.06 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage in 46 games for the Thrashers in the 2008–09 season. During that season, he made a career-high 49 saves against the Washington Capitals on March 16, 2009.
Lehtonen re-joined the Thrashers on February 7, 2010, following a condition stint with the Chicago Wolves in January. However, on February 9, Lehtonen was traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth-round draft pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft (Ivan Telegin). He concluded his run with the Thrashers as a franchise leader in games played (204), goals-against average (2.87), save percentage (.912), wins (94) and shutouts (14). He spent the remainder of the season backing up Marty Turco and won six of the twelve games he played with the team.
Prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, the Stars signed Lehtonen to a three-year, $10.65 million extension. In his first full season in Dallas, Lehtonen compiled a 34–24–11 record with a 2.55 GAA in 69 games played. He led the league in wins within his first twelve starts, recording an 11–1–0 record and landing him a potential Vezina Trophy nomination. Lehtonen received his 17th career shutout against the Columbus Blue Jackets, pulling the team closer to a playoff spot. Lehtonen and the Stars narrowly missed the 2011 playoffs after losing to the Minnesota Wild on the final day of the season to eliminate them from playoff contention, finishing the season only two points behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks for the last playoff spot. In the 2011–12 NHL season, Lehtonen posted a 32–22–4 record, 4 shutouts, a 2.33 goals against average and a .922 save percentage.
On September 4, 2012, the day before an impending lockout, Lehtonen signed a five-year, $29.5 million contract. The contract included a no-trade clause. Early on in the 2012–13 NHL season, Lehtonen was considered a potential Vezina Trophy candidate, recording a .934 save percentage, ranked third in the league at that time and a 2.12 goals against average. He was 7–2–1 in the season, before he suffered a lower-body injury against the Vancouver Canucks on February 15, 2013. He returned to the team on February 27, however, was once again injured on April 9, against the Los Angeles Kings.
Lehtonen led the NHL in minutes played during the 2013–14 season. He left a game against the Minnesota Wild after suffering a head injury in March 2014. He made the playoffs with the Stars for the first time in 2014 as the team finished as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference where they would eventually be defeated in six games by the top seeded Anaheim Ducks. He earned his first career shutout in the playoffs in Game 1, making 37 saves.
By the 2014–15 NHL season, Lehtonen's number began to falter. During a game against the Florida Panthers on March 5, 2015, he allowed three goals on eleven shots and was pulled. However, he did earn a 27 save shutout against the Los Angeles Kings back in November 2014, making an acrobatic glove save diving across the crease to rob Jarret Stoll at the edge of the crease of the second period. He finished the season with a record of 34–17–10, a goals against average of 2.94 and a .903 save percentage. The following season, Lehtonen continued to struggle. Prior to the 2015–16 season, the Stars acquired fellow Finnish goaltender Antti Niemi from the San Jose Sharks to compete with Lehtonen. They alternated regularly the next two seasons. He finished that season with a record of 25–10–2, a goals against average of 2.76 and a .906 save percentage. In the 2016 playoffs, Lehtonen established himself as the primary goalie. He earned his second career shutout in the playoffs in Game 1 against the Minnesota Wild. The Stars went on to beat the Wild in a six game series, winning Game 6, with a score of 5–4 and earned Lehtonen his first career playoff series win. However, in Game 7 of the second round, he was pulled after giving up three goals in the first period as the Stars' season ended with a 6–1 loss to the St. Louis Blues for a 4–3 defeat in the series.