Kari Lehtonen Traded to Stars

On Tuesday February 9th Kari Lehtonen was traded from the Atlanta Thrashers to the Dallas Stars for Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth round draft pick in the 2010 draft.

Lehtonen was called up by Atlanta on Tuesday after completing a conditioning assignment with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. He hasn't played this season in the NHL due to back surgery on September 16th.

When he played for the Chicago Wolves he played 4 games and posted a 2.67GAA and a 0.899 SV%.

The Stars now have three quality goalies to choose from. They have Marty Turco, Alex Auld, and now Kari Lehtonen.

"Obviously I think they feel pretty good about Kari Lehtonen. He's come back and I've heard that he's played well at the American League level, so we'll see what happens from there on our side" said Dallas Stars head coach Marc Crawford.

Kari Lehtonen Undergoes 2nd Back Surgery

Atlanta Thrashers netminder Kari Lehtonen underwent his second back surgery this year on Friday in Rochester, N.Y. to remove edges of bone that were applying pressure to nerve roots in his back at two locations. He is expected to be missing six to eight weeks before hitting the ice again.

He hasnt played a single game yet this season due to having suregery on July 20th to repair a herniated disc. Now with Lehtonen out of the line up, 22-year old Ondrej Pavelec will be the Thrashers new starting goaltender. So far this season Pavelec has posted a 5-3-1 record.