Report: Flyers forward Jori Lehtera suspect in Finnish cocaine ring

What can only be described as a poor spinoff of the Netflix hit television series Narcos has been playing out in Finland over the past few months and Philadelphia Flyers centre Jori Lehtera may be involved.

According to a report from a Finnish news service that has since been publicized by David Isaac of Courier Post, the 30-year-old has been questioned by police in his home country about his involvement in a cocaine ring.

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Seven people are already behind bars in connection to a couple of kilograms of snow that began spreading around Finland earlier this year. At this time, Lehtera is one of 23 suspects that may be linked to the cocaine and his cottage was raided earlier this summer in connection to the investigation.

The Flyers issued the following statement regarding the allegations Wednesday afternoon.

The former St. Louis Blue and KHL star has made over $21 million in his brief four-season career in the NHL. The only logical explanation may be that the guy is just a little unhappy with some of the investments he’s made so far with that cash and may be exploring new ways to diversify his financial portfolio. Some people would pump their money into hedge funds, exciting startups and real estate. But when you have the opportunity to sell drugs to your team’s new mascot, you have to take it. How else would you explain Gritty’s dilated pupils and endless energy?

All joking aside, whatever is going on and whether or not these allegations hold any water, they have to be quite the distraction for Lehtera during one of the most important weeks of his career. His production has quickly declined from the 14-goal, 44-point campaign he put together in his first NHL season back in 2014-15. Last year he only mustered three goals and eight points in 62 regular season games, his first with the Flyers after being exchanged along with a couple of draft picks for Brayden Schenn. Those are not totals that you want to see from someone with an annual cap hit of $4.7 million.

Young up-and-comers such as Jordan Weal and Corban Knight seem to have smelt the blood in the water. They’ve put together strong performances at Flyers camp and will look to potentially steal the veteran’s spot on the squad.

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