On the surface, Kari Lehtonen is a strange player for us to rank.  The Finnish Goalie has 310 Wins, but never finished higher than eighth in Vezina voting.  He has over 110 Goalie Point Shares, and is in the top 50 all-time in that category, but has only been in the playoffs three times.

So, what do we have?

Lehtonen was the second overall pick in 2002, taken by the Atlanta Thrashers, who were not good, never good, and had the most apathetic fan base in the NHL. After playing mostly in the AHL, he became their main Goalie in 2007, but again, Atlanta was horrible, and most of the success that the Thrashers had come from Lehtonen.

The Thrashers traded Lehtonen to the Dallas Stars, but they were in a down period, and he did not have much help up front.  He logged more minutes wearing the Dallas green, and in the 2013-14 campaign, Lehtonen led all netminders in Games (65) and Minutes Played (3.804).  Coincidentally, this was the year when had his only Vezina finish (eighth).  He retired after the 2017-18 Season, and because of the lack of success of Dallas in that time, keeps him from being remembered as much as he should.

Lehtonen also represented Finland multiple times, peaking with a Bronze Medal in the 2014 Olympics.                           

Kari Lehtonen may not have had the playoff success that other Dallas Stars Goalies have had, but he hasn’t exactly had the support that other franchise backstops have enjoyed either.