Michel Therrien only managed Artturi Lehkonen for one season. But the former head coach of the Montreal Canadiens has certainly not forgotten the Finnish striker.
“He’s a hockey player,” he enthused on Wednesday at JiC. Lehkonen practically won an Oscar after every match. Even if he didn’t score, his intelligence on the ice and his positioning impressed me a lot.
In hindsight, should Kent Hughes really have traded Lehkonen, shortly after he took over as general manager?
“We have not learned to know the kid, observed Therrien. We made a decision when the team was doing more or less well. He’s the type of player we’d like to have in the Canadiens organization. We were a little impatient.”
Make no mistake, though: Therrien is not seeking to question Hughes’ work.
“This is not a criticism,” he clarified. André Savard told me: “You can’t hit for 1000.” I give a lot of credit to Joe Sakic and his professional scouting staff.”
When Gallagher gets his job
Therrien also recalled the moment when he decided to place Lehkonen in front of the net on the power play to the detriment of Brendan Gallagher.
“We were in San Jose. Lehkonen knew such a good match that I took Gallagher out and put him in his place. Gally came to see me the next day: “Coachis there something I’m not doing well?’” said Therrien, who had to reassure his veteran.
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