The Dallas Stars traded for goalie Kari Lehtonen Tuesday night, sending defenseman prospect Ivan Vishnevsky and a fourth-round pick to the Atlanta Thrashers.
With this trade, the Stars have all but shown Marty Turco the door. Turco has been in the Stars net for 10 years and has been a great number 1 goalie for the team, compiling a record of 257 wins, 149 losses, 26 ties, and 35 overtime losses. While he still has the talent to be a top netminder, age has finally caught up to the 34-year-old. In his last two years, he has allowed numerous soft goals that he used to stop and he has begun to play fewer games due to fatigue.
Turco and backup Alex Auld will both become unrestricted free agents at the year and both will almost certainly be let go. Turco is a prime candidate to be traded by the March 3 trade deadline because he still has the talent level to be a starter and every playoff team wants to have at least two solid guys to mind the net.
Lehtonen, 26, is a talented goalie who was drafted second overall in the 2002 draft. He does come with a knock however; he has struggled with injuries during his career. He has suffered groin injuries from collisions in three of the past four years and is coming off two back surgeries during the offseason. He has yet to play in an NHL game this season. When healthy, he has shown the ability to be an elite goaltender and he comes cheap. With the Stars' money troubles, a young, cheap and talented goalie is too good to pass up.
Vishnevsky is a talented prospect for the Stars but has only played in five games in his two year career, scoring twice. He is an offensive-minded defenseman who will need to improve his game.
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