For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter It’s always preferable to have options and for Kyle Dubas, the signing of free-agent defenseman Mikko Lehtonen on Monday gives the Toronto Maple Leafs GM some much-needed flexibility and inexpensive depth in a year where the salary cap will likely stay flat. Lehtonen was signed by the Leafs to a one-year entry-level contract on Monday after being pursued by a number of NHL teams following the mutual termination of his contract with Jokerit (KHL) on the weekend. The 26-year-old led all KHL defenseman with 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists) in 60 games and the expectations are high for the Finnish blueliner, but it is unknown in the current construct of the Leafs defense whether the lefty-shooter slots on the left side or the right, where he played in Sweden for a year and for Finland during last year’s World Championship. "The way that he plays and the way that we want to play is his ability to be a two-way defenseman." Dubas said on Monday. Along with Lehtonen, Toronto has seven blueliners (Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren, Calle Rosen, Justin Holl) under contract next season and Travis Dermott as a restricted free agent, but with the likely departure of Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci, the Leafs have only Holl and Liljegren as righties, which could mean that Dermott, Sandin, Lehtonen or Rielly (all who have played the right defense before) could shift to the other side. "With regards to whether he'll play the left (or) right side. It's such a hard thing to answer right now, usually our season is over and we knew more about where we were at,… Dubas said. “But I think we want to hopefully get back and finish our season and evaluate things from there and then determine whether we want to try them on both sides, but I think the versatility certainly helps."
Could the Leafs deal Dermott for a younger right-handed shooter or someone still exempt from the expansion draft? Will Dubas be content to keep his current group and risk losing one of his current blueliners to Seattle next summer? *******
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