Robin Lehner signed a five-year, $25 million contract to remain with the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. It has an average annual value of $5 million.
The 29-year-old goalie, who could have become an unrestricted free agent Oct. 9, was 19-10-5 with a 2.89 goals-against average, .920 save percentage and one shutout in 36 games (34 starts) with the Golden Knights and Chicago Blackhawks last season.
“Can’t put in to words how happy me and my family are to finally find a home,” Lehner said in a tweet. “Especially in a fantastic place like Las Vegas with this great team and organization. It’s been a long road to get here for me and I could not be any happier.”
He signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent July 1, 2019 and was 16-10-5 with a 3.01 GAA and .918 save percentage before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 24 and flipped to the Golden Knights later that day.
He won each of his three regular-season starts after he was traded to Vegas.
At the time, the Golden Knights framed the Lehner acquisition as support for goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the face of the franchise who helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season of 2017-18. Fleury agreed to a three-year, $21 million contract (average annual value $7 million) with Vegas on July 13, 2018, which runs through 2021-22.
But Lehner started 15 of 19 postseason games for Vegas, supplanting Fleury as the No. 1 goalie. He was 9-7-0 with a 1.99 GAA, .917 save percentage and four shutouts in 16 NHL postseason games to help the Golden Knights advance to the Western Conference Final, where they lost to the Dallas Stars in five games.
Fleury said on Sept. 24 he wanted to stay with the Golden Knights even if Lehner signed a long-term contract.
“I get along great with Robin, so I think it would be all right. I still love to play,” Fleury told The Athletic. “I don’t think I just want to be a backup, but I’ll practice hard, try to play well, and hopefully get some games, but it always comes down to the coach’s decision. Whatever happens, happens. And that’s fine. I’ll just try my best to come to camp in good shape and do well from there.”
Lehner was 25-13-5 with a 2.13 GAA, .930 save percentage and six shutouts in 46 games (43 starts) with the New York Islanders in 2018-19, when he teamed with Thomas Greiss to win the William Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed. He also won the Masterton Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey, and was third in voting for the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL.
Lehner is 116-120-45 with a 2.72 GAA, a .918 save percentage and 15 shutouts in 301 regular-season games (282 starts) with the Golden Knights, Blackhawks, Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators, who selected him in the second round (No. 46) of the 2009 NHL Draft. He is 13-12 with a 2.01 GAA and .924 save percentage and four shutouts in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
You must be logged in to post a comment.