Devils linked to Lehtonen
Jokerit Helsinki: The team and Mikko Lehtonen have mutually agreed to terminate his contract.
Andrew Zadarnowski: KHL free agent defenseman Mikko Lehtonen has been linked to the New Jersey Devils by the Russian site Championat.
Brandon Holmes: On Lehtonen: “a mobile blueliner with excellent offensive skills. Led the KHL in points (49) and goals (17) by a defenseman at the age of 26 and has a great point shot to show for it. Ready to step into the NHL and contribute immediately.”
Romanov will be coming to Montreal
Jean-Francois Chaumont of Le Journal de Montreal; Alexander Romanov will be signing with the Montreal Canadiens. If it’s for this season or next is still to be determined.
“Alexander is definitely coming to Montreal,” said Milstein. “It remains to be seen whether he would be allowed to end the season with the Canadiens if the NHL resumes operations this summer or a little later. For this reason, we will wait before finalizing the agreement. But Alex wants to play in Montreal.”
Eric Engels: (early in the week) “Reminder: Alex Romanov won’t sign before we know what’s happening with the 19-20 season. He’ll sign once we do, but not before then. Obviously wants an opportunity to avoid an extremely long period without playing, if possible. So, if you had May 1 circled, just be patient. #Habs“
Three Maple Leafs who could benefit from a good playoff run
Jonas Siegel of The Athletic: Rookie forward Ilya Mikheyev is one Toronto Maple Leaf who could benefit from the season resuming. He suffered a wrist injury after 39 years and is a pending RFA. A solid playoff run could increase the value of his next contract.
Frederik Andersen is another player who could use a solid finished. His regular season hasn’t been spectacular, a .909 save percentage. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after next season and there has been some questions about his long-term future with the team – not coming from within the organization at this point.
A good playoff run could increase the free agent value for unrestricted free agent defenseman Tyson Barrie. Though it’s possible that Barrie returns to the Maple Leafs, it seems unlikely.