"Since signing Ed Belfour to a free-agent contract in 1997, the Stars have had two No. 1 goalies. That's right, in the 11 seasons since then, either Belfour or Marty Turco was the man in net – and in that span they went on to set pretty much every goaltending record in franchise history. So the fact that Kari Lehtonen will take that mantel this season is a pretty big deal. "I would say that's a fair statement," Stars coach Marc Crawford said. "He's pretty important for us." And while fans saw Lehtonen plenty last season after he was acquired in a February trade for prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy, there's a different feeling this season. With Turco signed in Chicago as a free agent, Lehtonen will clearly be the No. 1 goalie in Dallas. Lehtonen has had the time to move into a house and time to spend working out in Dallas throughout the summer, and the Stars have had time to embrace the fact that he will be their top goalie for this season and possibly years to come. "I do think we are looking at a long relationship with Kari, and that's exciting," said Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk, who signed Lehtonen to a three-year contract extension in the summer. "I think he has the tools to be one of the elite goaltenders in the league." Lehtonen was drafted second overall in 2002 by the Atlanta Thrashers but battled injury problems. He had two back operations last year and lost his job to Ondrej Pavelec. So the Thrashers traded him to the Stars, and the Stars started working on getting him back on top of his game. He showed flashes of greatness in posting a 6-3-0 record with a 2.44 goals-against average and .926 save percentage in the final nine games. And since then, he has worked on flexibility and fitness in the summer and seems prepared to carry the load for the Stars. " http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...stories/092410dnspostarslehtonen.27529b2.html
