Leafs trade Lehtonen to Blue Jackets for Vehvilainen

The Toronto Maple Leafs traded defenseman Mikko Lehtonen to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Veini Vehvilainen, the club announced Friday.

Vehvilainen, 24, made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets on March 6 in relief for Joonas Korpisalo. He stopped three of the four shots he faced.

Columbus selected the Finnish goalie in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He appeared in 33 AHL games during the 2019-20 season, posting a 10-18-5 record with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.

Vehvilainen was named the Finnish Liiga's best goaltender in both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons while playing with Karpat. He was also a member of Finland's gold-medal teams at the 2019 IIHF World Championships and the 2016 world juniors.

Lehtonen, 27, was signed by Toronto to a one-year, entry-level contract prior to the beginning of the season. He was the KHL's top-scoring defenseman during the 2019-20 campaign. Lehtonen recorded three assists over nine games with Toronto this season.