After locking up superstar defenseman Cale Makar to a record-breaking eight-year, $163.2 million extension, the focus among Colorado Avalanche players under contract for the 2026-27 season has shifted to Artturi Lehkonen.
The Finnish winger is now the team’s most notable skater entering the final year of his contract.
According to president of hockey operations and general manager Joe Sakic, negotiations with Lehkonen could stretch into the regular season.
“We’ll continue talking with Artturi, his representatives, but it’s one of those things that we start the season and see where that goes,” Sakic said Monday on Altitude Sports Radio.
Sakic’s comments came shortly after he held a press conference alongside Makar to discuss the defenseman’s historic extension.
Lehkonen, 31, is entering the final season of a five-year contract carrying a $4.5 million AAV. He signed the deal immediately after helping the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022 upon his arrival ahead of the trade deadline.
Over the first four years of the contract, Lehkonen has scored at least 20 goals three times, including a career-high 27 goals in 69 games in 2024-25. His other season produced 16 goals in just 45 games.
The biggest question surrounding Lehkonen in recent years has been his availability. He played in 70 games during the 2025-26 season, the most he has suited up for in a single season since joining Colorado. He also missed some time during the playoffs and seemed to be playing hurt when he returned.
When he’s healthy and in the lineup, however, there’s no denying Lehkonen’s importance to the Avalanche.
He has become one of Colorado’s most trusted left-wingers and has spent significant time alongside Nathan MacKinnon on the team’s top line, playing opposite Martin Necas and Mikko Rantanen before him.
Since the start of the 2022-23 regular season, Lehkonen has averaged 28 goals, 31 assists and 59 points per 82 games played. He’s also a key member of Colorado’s penalty kill and regularly sees time on the power play.
His value has been even more evident in the postseason.
Since the start of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Lehkonen has recorded 23 goals, 18 assists, and 41 points in 56 games. He has also developed a reputation for coming through in important moments, dating back to his series-clinching overtime goal against the Edmonton Oilers in 2022 that sent the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final. He also scored the Cup-clinching goal in the very next round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.