Avalanche acquire Artturi Lehkonen from the Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens firesale continues.

The Habs have traded forward Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Justin Barron and a second-round pick in 2024.

A versatil, two-way winger, Lehkonen has 13 goals and 29 points through 58 games for the Habs this season, putting him on pace to set a career-high in the latter category. Beyond solid depth production, Lehkonen is also known as a quality defensive forward, as he’s one of Montreal’s most commonly used forwards on the penalty kill.

Lehkonen carries a $2.3million cap hit and will become a restricted free agent at the end of the season. He has one more year left of team control before he can hit the open market. Per The Athletic’s Peter Baugh, Montreal retains 50 percent of his salary in the trade.

Montreal has now traded away four players from last spring’s Stanley Cup Final run in the past month: Lehkonen, Brett Kulak (to Edmonton), Ben Chiarot (to Florida), and Tyler Toffoli (to Calgary).

Barron, the prospect that’s headed back to Montreal, was Colorado’s first-round pick, No. 25 overall, in the 2020 draft. In 43 games for the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, Barron has five goals and 20 points. He’s played two games with the Avs at the NHL level.