Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets swap prospects
The Toronto Maple Leafs dealt defenseman Mikko Lehtonen to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Veini Vehviläinen on Friday.
Lehtonen, 27, will join the taxi club after he obtains a work visa and clears quarantine.
? TRADE: The Blue Jackets have acquired D Mikko Lehtonen from the Maple Leafs in exchange for G Veini Vehvilainen. #CBJ | @Huntington_Bank
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 12, 2021
Details ⤵️ https://t.co/jqWBetEWyU
The Turku, Finland native signed a one-year, entry level contact with the Maple Leafs on May 4, 2020. He made his NHL debut on Jan. 18, 2021 against Winnipeg. He recorded his first point on Jan. 30 at Edmonton. In nine games this season, he has three assists, four penalty minutes and a plus-one rating.
Vehviläinen, 24, made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets on March 4 at Dallas. He stopped three of four shots in 10:40 of action. He has also appeared in one game with the Cleveland Monsters this year and 13 games with Liiga's JYP.
In 2019-20, the 2018 sixth-round pick of the Blue Jackets, posted a 10-18-5 record with a 2.76 goals against average and a .901 save percentage as a rookie in 33 games with Cleveland.
TRADE: We’ve acquired goaltender Veini Vehviläinen from Columbus in exchange for Mikko Lehtonen. #LeafsForever
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 12, 2021
Details: https://t.co/mhODkKPFGy pic.twitter.com/e7rg222gyG
