The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired goaltender Veini Vehvilainen from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Mikko Lehtonen.
Vehvilainen, 24, has made one appearance with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters this season, stopping 21 of 24 shots at Rockford on Feb. 23. He made his NHL debut with Columbus on Mar. 6, allowing one goal on four shots in 10:40 of work against Dallas.
Vehvilainen spent last season with Cleveland, going 10-18-4 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage with three shutouts in 33 appearances.
Prior to coming to North America, Vehvilainen played in Finland’s Liiga and was named the league’s top goaltender in 2017-18 and 2018-19. He won a gold medal at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2019 World Championship.
Vehvilainen was originally a sixth-round choice by Columbus in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Lehtonen, 27, is in his first season in North America after skating for teams in Finland and Sweden. He has three assists in nine games with the Maple Leafs in 2020-21.
