According to this Finnish sports site, the Canadiens have signed 6' 2'', 200lb forward Janne Lahti. Trouble is all the details are in the language of double ii's, aa's and nn's. As of this moment there has yet to be confirmation of the signing at the Canadiens official site, so knowledge of exactly who Lahti is remains limited.
If your Finnish is good you can try this one interpretation from the site:
Laitahyökkääjä Janne Lahti siirtyy Montreal Canadiensiin. Lahti teki viime kaudella HPK:ssa 20 maalia ja syötti 14. Lahti teki kauden jälkeen sopimuksen Jokerien kanssa, mutta Jokerien sijasta ura jatkuukin Kanadassa.
I did manage to find this piece from On Frozen Blog where Lahti is discussed as a hoped for Washington Capitals signing.
It reads: Janne Lahti's name arose this afternoon during a WaPost chat with Tarik.
Fredericksburgh, Va: "Tarik, Janne Lahti scored another goal for HPK in the Finnish playoffs to send the game to OT. He has seven goals in seven games now. I hope the rumors of him signing here are true."
Tarik El-Bashir: "I heard those rumors, too. I’ve been trying to get a hold of GMGM to confirm. Not that he’ll say anything, though. But that’s never stopped me from trying."
We hadn’t heard his name before today, but we’ve conducted a bit of crack research. He goes about 6 ‘2, 200, and he skates for HPK Hameenlinna of the Finnish Elite League. He’ll be 25 this July. In 56 games with HPK this season he potted 20 goals and 14 assists — those goals in particular are eye-catching in any European Elite league. They’re solidly in the postseason in Finland now, and through seven games Lahti has 7 goals.
Apparently there had been many rumours on Finnish hockey message boards that he was about to sign with the Capitals.
Looks like they've been scooped by Gainey and company who had been doing some scouting at the World Tournament earlier this month.
4 comments:
Here's a really rough online translation:
Wing Janne Lahti migrating Montreal Canadiensiin. Inlet creator past kaudella HPKssa : 20 goal and decoy 14. Lahti creator kauden after sopimuksen Jokerien too , only Jokerien for furrow jatkuukin Canada.
Looking up Jokerien takes you to
wikipedia where you can find Lahti's Finnish wiki entry
You weren't kidding about the "really rough" part!
The "migrating" term now makes me wonder if he's signed with the Ducks!
Wait, geese migrate, ducks fly sou..oh nevermind. When the Habs site announces it, then it's real. Until then it's a half baked official rumour!
:) Here's a not-so-rough translation:
Wing Janne Lahti transfers to Montreal Canadiens. Last season Lahti scored 20 and assisted on 14 goals for HPK Hämeenlinna in the Finnish Elite League. After the season Lahti signed a contract with Jokerit Helsinki, but instead of Jokerit, his career will continue in Canada.
Thanks Kallio - much appreciated!
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