If Lehkonen's comparables are worth 4.5m to an arbitrator, wouldn't that imply that he, too, is worth that? The guy just had a brilliant playoff run and is likely to play in our top six next year, how could you reasonably expect him to take less money than JT Compher as an RFA?
I'd personally rather keep Lehk around than any of Burakovsky, Kadri, or Manson. At least two of those guys are going to get back breaker contracts on Wednesday that the Avs cannot afford. Lehkonen is a perfect fit for Bednar's system as a workaholic, two-way, forechecking winger, he's behind only Nuke as far as must-keep players on this roster.