Robbed of a family Stanley Cup moment last year, the Lehkonens get a do-over

DENVER — The FOMO was real. Ismo Lehkonen lived it last year during the Stanley Cup Final.

The Finnish broadcast analyst made the long journey to cover the Final on-site three years previously, but his trip was canceled last season – of course, the year his son Artturi and the Montreal Canadiens made a surprise run.

Add it to the list of experiences robbed by the pandemic over the last two years.

But Lehkonen is back. And so is Artturi, this time with the Colorado Avalanche, as a marquee trade deadline acquisition paying dividends. It’s one of the rare times in hockey history that a father gets paid to watch his son chase a Stanley Cup in-person and then break down his game on national network YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Company.

“It’s like a dream, it’s a hell of a dream,” Lehkonen said Tuesday at Media Day to kick off the Final. “Last season, I didn’t have a chance to show up there. I wanted to, but with COVID restrictions, it wasn’t easy to travel. Now, finally, I’m here. A second chance.”

That didn’t look like it was going to be the case this year, particularly in Montreal as the Canadiens went from last year’s Final to 32nd place in the span of one season. Artturi’s name had swirled in trade rumors, but he was still a critical piece to their future success, and that made it a surprise to Lehkonen that Artturi was traded on Deadline Day.

GM Joe Sakic finally broke down his Montreal counterpart, Kent Hughes, by sending first-round prospect Justin Barron and a 2024 second-round pick for Artturi.

“A little bit shocked, you never know,” Lehkonen said. “But then I realized what kind of team he is going to and what kind of style they play and the skill level. It’s a real good situation. Everyone wants to win and their skill level, how they handle the puck is so awesome, everyone is on the same page with the same mission.”

Lehkonen said Artturi called him one week after the trade and said: “I love it here. Now it’s on me.” He’s delivered in just about every way imaginable. For all the speculation about the Avs’ interest in then-Flyers captain Claude Giroux, Artturi’s hockey sense and defensive commitment seems to be a better stylistic fit. He’s helped add conscience to a high-flying Colorado team. They are more difficult to play against in their own end with Artturi. He’s also contributed with some huge moments offensively, netting six goals and 11 points in 14 postseason games, including scoring the Conference-clinching goal for the second year in a row.

Ismo Lehkonen with young Artturi Lehkonen

On and off the ice, the Avs have been an incredible fit for Artturi, reunited on a line with friend and countryman Mikko Rantanen. Sakic asked Rantanen about Artturi before pulling the trigger on the trade.

“We had a little chat. They asked what kind of guy he is. And I said he’s a bad guy. No, I’m just kidding,” Rantanen said Tuesday. “I told them right away that he’s a great guy and he could help our team a lot – in the locker room, especially on the ice. And we’ve seen it in the playoffs.”

Lehkonen has known Rantanen since Rantanen was 12 years old. Now 60, Lehkonen played in Finland’s Liiga and was also a head coach for six seasons. He still coaches Artturi and a handful of pros, like Rantanen, during the summer. He brought Rantanen a little slice of home on Tuesday, delivering his Finnish chocolate bar on Media Day.

“He’s a great guy,” Rantanen said of Lehkonen. “And a real good coach.”

“He was small, a real small player, and now he’s a horse,” Lehkonen said of Rantanen. “He was really small – and because he was so small, he had to use a lot of skill, because big guys picked on him all of the time.”

Putting his broadcaster hat on again, Lehkonen said he noticed Rantanen may have been a little nervous at times these playoffs. He made an early prediction for the Final: “He’s going to be a hell of a player.”

“In the first two rounds, he was a little bit nervous, and the level he’s played in the third round was much, much better,” Lehkonen said. “I expect that in the final round.”

Maybe it’s that type of analysis that made Artturi, who rarely stops smiling, only a little bit happy to have him around.

“I’ll probably get dinner with him,” Artturi said, joking around. “Yeah it’s pretty fun. He gets to hang around here again in the Stanley Cup Final. I know he’s been to a few of these and it’s fun.”

Properly channeling the nervous energy that surrounds a Stanley Cup Final is critical for success – both on the ice and in the broadcast booth. Will Lehkonen have any nerves watching his son skate for a Stanley Cup?

“I was real nervous last season because I started to think this might be his last chance,” Lehkonen said. “Tampa is a real good team. Last year, everything had to go 100 percent right, just perfect, then they would have a chance. Carey Price had to be a wall. This year, I’m not nervous. I’m real comfortable that they have a chance. If [the Avs] just play their own game – they use their speed, they defend as much as they can, they have a real good chance to defeat the Tampa dynasty.”

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Robbed of a family Stanley Cup moment last year, the Lehkonens get a do-over

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