The father he is referring to is Ismo Lehkonen, Artturi Lehkonen's dad.
In Toronto, we see reports of fathers of players being involved in contract negotiations, but never calling out a current teammate of their son or creating tension between other players. This is something that the Avalanche will need to address sooner than later to avoid any further fallout or animosity between the teammates.
Whether Lehkonen was aware of his father's comments or not, he will have to have a very difficult conversation with him and with Rantanen, for that matter. You really feel for Lehkonen here, as there will not only likely be some friction between he and Rantanen, but also he and his own father.
Lehkonen has not played since November 10th after falling into the boards head first, sustaining a neck injury. Since the injury, he has been listed as "week-to-week". Although he has not been around the team and likely won't be for a while, you can be sure that once he returns, he will be facing questions about his father's comments.
POLL | ||
12 DECEMBRE | 415 ANSWERS NHL superstar starts very public beef with member of his own team Do you think the Avs should trade Artturi Lehkonen due to his father pissing off one of the Avs' top players? | ||
Yes | 143 | 34.5 % |
No | 272 | 65.5 % |
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