Kaapo Kähkönen
Kaapo Kähkönen | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 16, 1996 Helsinki, Finland |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey goaltender |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Known for | Playing in the NHL for Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche; currently with Laval Rocket (AHL) under contract with Montreal Canadiens (NHL) |
Kaapo Kähkönen (born 16 August 1996) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League (AHL), while under contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected 109th overall by the Minnesota Wild during the 2014 NHL entry draft, Kähkönen has also been rostered with the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, and Colorado Avalanche.
Finland
Kähkönen's early career began within the Espoo Blues system, where he made his professional debut on loan to TUTO Hockey competing in the Mestis during the 2014–15 season. He subsequently appeared in the top-tier Finnish league, Liiga, for the Blues in 2015–16. Pursuing increased ice time, he inked a two-year deal with Lukko in April 2016. The 2017–18 season saw him lead Liiga in appearances, total minutes played, and shutouts, achieving personal best statistics.
North America
Following his tenure with Lukko, Kähkönen agreed to a two-year entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild on 16 May 2018. During the 2019–20 campaign, he was called up from their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, and made his NHL debut on 26 November 2019, recording 32 saves in a victorious outing against the New Jersey Devils. In the 2020–21 season, he secured a full-time role as backup goaltender to Cam Talbot, stringing together nine consecutive wins with an impressive .947 save percentage and two shutouts.
On 21 March 2022, Kähkönen was traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Jacob Middleton and a fifth-round draft selection. He later extended his contract with San Jose on a two-year deal worth $5.5 million in July 2022.
Kähkönen was dealt to the New Jersey Devils on 8 March 2024 for goaltender Vítek Vaněček and a seventh-round pick. Over six games with New Jersey, he posted a .923 save percentage alongside a 2.51 goals-against average.
On 1 July 2024, he signed a one-year contract valued at $1 million with the Winnipeg Jets. After losing the backup position to Eric Comrie, Kähkönen was placed on waivers and claimed by the Colorado Avalanche on 11 October. Upon clearing immigration formalities, he was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, for conditioning before rejoining Colorado’s NHL squad. Subsequent roster adjustments led to another waiver placement, and on 12 November, Winnipeg reclaimed him.
On 5 March 2025, Kähkönen was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for goaltender Chris Driedger. While Florida secured their second straight Stanley Cup championship, Kähkönen contributed significantly by leading their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, to the Calder Cup Finals in 2025.
As a free agent following that season, Kähkönen signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens on 1 July 2025.
International play
Kähkönen represented Finland at the junior level during both the 2015 and 2016 World Junior Championships, earning gold in the latter year. In 2015, he served as third-string goaltender and did not see game action. The following year, he started as backup but assumed a pivotal role as the tournament advanced, aiding Finland in capturing its fourth gold medal. Notably, he replaced Veini Vehviläinen during the quarterfinals against Canada and made 21 saves in Finland’s narrow 2–1 semifinal victory over Sweden. He then recorded 22 saves during overtime in the championship final against Russia.
Regular season and playoffs
| 2024–25 NHL season | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 4 | 0 | 4.12 | .800 | - | 2024–25 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 22 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 1,202 | 66 | 1 | 3.29 | .885 | - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2024–25 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 705 | 27 | 0 | 2.30 | .906 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 1,128 | 41 | 1 | 2.18 | .906 | - bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3"|Liiga totals !117 !!38 !!50 !!27 !!6,876 !!278 !!9 !!2.43 !! .918 !2 !!0 !!2 !!126 !!5 !!0 !!2.38 !! .921 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3"|NHL totals !140 !!49 !!68 !!15 !!7,744 !!431 !!4 !!3.34 !! .898 !— !— !— !— !— !— !— !—| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2012–13 | Espoo Blues | Jr. A | 28 | — | — | — | 1,676 | 68 | 4 | 2.43 | .917 | 12 | — | — | 628 | 28 | 2 | 2.68 | .901 | ||
| 2013–14 | Espoo Blues | Jr. A | 38 | — | — | — | 2,279 | 91 | 3 | 2.39 | .911 | 10 | — | — | 599 | 21 | 0 | 2.10 | .915 | ||
| 2014–15 | TuTo | Mestis | 47 | — | — | — | — | 92 | — | 2.11 | .925 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | 1.95 | .934 | ||
| 2015–16 | Espoo Blues | Liiga | 27 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 1,581 | 71 | 1 | 2.69 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | TuTo | Mestis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 6 | — | — | — | 18 | — | 3.03 | .885 | ||
| 2016–17 | Lukko | Liiga | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 2,020 | 87 | 2 | 2.58 | .921 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Lukko | Liiga | 56 | 20 | 23 | 12 | 3,275 | 120 | 6 | 2.20 | .920 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 126 | 5 | 0 | 2.38 | .921 | ||
| 2018–19 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 39 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 2,373 | 110 | 6 | 2.78 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 34 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 2,058 | 71 | 7 | 2.07 | .927 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2019–20 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 305 | 15 | 0 | 2.96 | .913 | — | |||||||||
| 2020–21 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 16 |8 |0 |1,414 |68 |2 |2.88 |.902 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota Wild | NHL | 12 |8 |3 |1,381 |66 |0 |2.87 |.910 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–22 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 2 |6 |1 |566 |27 |0 |2.86 |.916 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–23 NHL season | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 9 |20 |7 |2,107 |135 |1 |3.85 |.883 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–24 NHL season | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 6 |20 |3 |1,651 |105 |0 |3.81 |.895 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–24 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 1 |4 |0 |263 |11 |1 |2.51 |.923 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–25 AHL season | Colorado Eagles | AHL | 0 |2 |0 |117 |5 |0 |
2.57 .|919 | ||||||||||||||||||
International
| Year | Team | Tournament | Placement | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Finland | U17 | 7th place | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 241 | 18 | 0 | 4.48 | .858 | |
| 2013 | Finland | U18 | Template:Bronze3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2013 | Finland | IH18 | 5th place | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 174 | 10 | 0 | 3.45 | .881 | |
| 2014 | Finland | U18 | 6th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 269 | 15 | 0 | 3.37 | .886 | |
| 2016 | Finland | WJC | Template:Gold1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 214 | 9 | 0 | 2.52 | .909 | |
| Junior career totals | 17 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 898 | 52 | 0 | — | — | ||||
Awards and honours
| Distinction | Year awarded |
|---|---|
| Mestis | |
| Top Goaltender | 2015 |
| First All-Star Team selection | 2015 |
| Best Rookie | 2015 |
| AHL | |
| All-Star Game participant | 2019 |
| Named to First All-Star Team | 2020 |
| Recipient of the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award | 2020 |
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1996 births
- Living people
- 21st-century Finnish sportsmen
- Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players
- Colorado Avalanche players
- Colorado Eagles players
- Espoo Blues players
- Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Finnish ice hockey goaltenders
- Ice hockey people from Helsinki
- Ice hockey players at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics
- Iowa Wild players
- Lukko players
- Manitoba Moose players
- Minnesota Wild draft picks
- Minnesota Wild players
- New Jersey Devils players
- San Jose Sharks players
- TuTo players
- Youth Olympic gold medalists for Finland