It’s been more than a year since Kari Lehtonen last laced up for a Dallas Stars game. And although he likes to avoid the word “retirement,” he’s found peace knowing he’s already played in his last NHL game:
“I was thinking if somebody has a bad start or injuries and stuff, (I’d) be able to sneak in and go to a team,” Lehtonen said. “But I eventually decided just, ‘This is it.’ I started spending more time at home with my family and kids. I still didn’t like want to announce anything like I’m retiring because I didn’t want to close that door.
…
“I wanted to see if I get the itch to play again,” Lehtonen said, “but I haven’t felt like I want to suit up.”
In his post-NHL life, Lehtonen has been spending most of his time with family, including helping out with his six-year-old son’s hockey team. But most recently, Lehtonen decided to help out coaching some slightly older young players at the Stars’ development camp:
“I just wanted to know if I could come here and kind of test my feet in goalie coaching,” Lehtonen said on Tuesday. “I can relate a lot better to these young goalies than the little six-year-old ones.”
You can read more from Sean Shapiro here.
Stars Stories
Speaking of goaltenders and development camp, Stars prospect Jake Oettinger is ready to make the most out of his first full year playing professionally:
Oettinger embracing ‘healthy’ competition with Stars https://t.co/N9EokZA8u1 via @NHLdotcom
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) June 27, 2019
And since you haven’t read enough about him already, here’s a nice story on the Stars’ most recent first rounder, Thomas Harley:
Thomas Harley doesn’t say much. But the Stars’ first-round pick has been around hockey all his life, and has the upside to make a big NHL impact. Just give it time; he’s 17 years old.
| @SaadYousuf126 |https://t.co/x9u1HKqfp4— The Athletic (@TheAthleticDFW) June 27, 2019
The Stars signed Taylor Fedun to a two-year contract extension. Just, uhh, don’t talk about it in the comments section:
FEDUUUUUN! 💪
We have re-signed defenseman Taylor Fedun to a two-year, two-way contract. #GoStars https://t.co/BaM9qO6FOI
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) June 27, 2019
Around the League
Down Goes Brown talks about the latest Hockey Hall of Fame inductees and the infamous “state income tax” in his latest Grab Bag:
Friday Grab Bag: Breaking down the pros and cons of the HHOF class of 2019. Plus a free agency debate gets taxing, interesting goalies, and lots more. https://t.co/PDYLd4fyA8 pic.twitter.com/Nxq2rKAdeo
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) June 28, 2019
Buyers beware — let’s hope the Stars avoid the following players come Monday:
Signing season has a tendency to get out of control and the annual arms race sees some teams hand out contracts that blow up in their faces.
Getting into bidding wars for these five players or overpaying for their services could be a disaster.https://t.co/IkxdxAlCQy
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) June 28, 2019
Personally, I think Patrik Laine ends up getting a bridge deal, but it’s not the only option on the table for the Winnipeg Jets:
Winnipeg will be good when Laine’s future is decided, but what does said future hold?https://t.co/6cuMiTe321
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) June 27, 2019
Should the NHL move to a soft salary cap? Greg Wyshynski makes the case for it in his latest Wysh List:
Read the column that everyone is talking about (in my mentions, I mean). #NHL https://t.co/zudbIz9qAX
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 28, 2019
Finally, the premise sounds very cliché, but this piece on the NHL’s future is worth your time and attention:
What we learned about the future of NHL at the 2019 Draft: https://t.co/SK9zkYEtl6
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) June 27, 2019