The 33-year-old is entering the final season of a five-year, $25MM contract, but he’s missed all of the last two seasons after undergoing double hip surgery. He was expected to remain on long-term injured reserve for all of the 2024-25 campaign as well, but Vegas couldn’t have placed him there without him failing a physical.

Since he didn’t report, Vegas was in a tricky situation, requiring the league and NHLPA to step in. They’ve now reached a resolution that will still involve Lehner receiving his $4.4MM salary for this season, per Seravalli, but he’ll effectively be suspended without pay as it relates to Vegas’ salary cap picture.

That takes a ton of workload off general manager Kelly McCrimmon’s plate. The Golden Knights would have had no issues starting the season with a cap-compliant roster with Lehner on LTIR, but that wouldn’t have allowed them to accrue cap space throughout the year. They’ll now be able to accrue space by operating without LTIR. It’ll be a significant amount of flexibility, too – with a full roster, they’ll have $1.36MM in projected space on opening night with Lehner essentially off the books, per PuckPedia.

At this stage, if it wasn’t already, Lehner’s NHL career should be considered over. The Swedish netminder made 364 appearances in parts of 12 seasons with the Senators, Sabres, Knights, Islanders, and Blackhawks, posting a strong .917 career SV% and 2.71 GAA with a 152-141-49 record and 17 shutouts.

The Oilers are firmly in their Stanley Cup window and need everything they can get from the 29-year-old especially when he is counting $9.25MM against the salary cap. Nurse has historically been a solid two-way defenseman for Edmonton but struggled considerably last year, especially in the playoffs where his even-strength play fell off a cliff.

In other Pacific Division notes:

• Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic tweeted that Oilers forward Roby Jarventie will be out for a few days beyond the season-opening rosters being finalized and then will go to the AHL. The 22-year-old has been dealing with a knee injury that has kept him out of training camp and will be looking to build on a successful albeit brief AHL run last season with the Senators. Jarventie had nine goals and 11 assists in 22 AHL games last season with the Belleville Senators and a single assist in seven NHL games. Edmonton acquired Jarventie (along with a fourth-round pick) in a trade that sent Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson to Ottawa.
• ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski tweeted that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says there will be more information about Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner later this week. Lehner was deemed unfit to play just two weeks ago and didn’t report for training camp. At the time, Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said that “”There are unique circumstances surrounding this situation that the NHL, the NHLPA and the club are currently working through. Collectively, we are assessing our next steps and when we have more to say, we will.” One would have to assume that the news later this week will be a follow-up to McCrimmon’s comments from September 19th.

All I can say at this time is everyone knows why I couldn’t be there. I am waiting calmly for things to be sorted out.

Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon has already indicated that Lehner won’t be reporting to the team this season.  The 33-year-old hasn’t played the last two years after undergoing hip surgery and clearly, that will be three years based on McCrimmon’s statement.  He’ll be LTIR-eligible once again as a result but Friedman notes that the team, Lehner, and the NHLPA are working through the unique circumstances of this situation so it might not quite be as simple as it has been the last couple of seasons.

More from out West:

• Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Cole Perfetti’s camp is believed to be using Ottawa’s two-year, $7.5MM agreement as a comparable in contract discussions, one that the Jets would likely want to avoid. The numbers between the two are quite close; Perfetti has 75 points in 140 career NHL games while Pinto checks in at 70 in 140.  While Pinto’s agreement was actually his third contract, he wasn’t arbitration-eligible which still makes it a legitimate comparable agreement.  Clearly, Winnipeg is looking for this deal to come in below that price point.
• New Oilers prospect Roby Jarventie will have to wait a little while longer to make his case for a roster spot. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal notes that while the 22-year-old has recovered from his midseason knee surgery, he overcompensated on the other knee while recovering, leading to him needing to shut things down for a couple of weeks to recover.  Jarventie played in seven games with Ottawa last season while adding 20 points in 22 AHL games and was acquired from the Sens this summer in mid-July.

Lehner was three years into a five-year, $25MM contract when he stepped away from the game, with the last season slated for the upcoming 2024-25. He only played in 99 games on the contract – spending a third with the Chicago Blackhawks – but he was accomplished when he played, recording 55 wins and a .913 save percentage. Lehner took home the William M Jennings Trophy twice in his career, the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2019, and ranked in the top six of Vezina Trophy voting every year between 2018 and 2020. The achievements spanned a 12-year, 364-game tenure in the NHL.

Other notes from out West:

• Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced that defender Tucker Poolman won’t play this season, per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650. Poolman hasn’t played since the 2022-23 season, when his career was ended by chronic migraines. He played in three games and scored one assist that year, marking the fifth NHL season Poolman took part in, though he only managed to play in a majority of his team’s games once. That came in the 2019-20 season, when Poolman played in 57 games and scored 16 points with the Winnipeg Jets. He worked his way up to second-pair ice time for parts of that season, but ultimately couldn’t stick in the lineup through repeat injuries. His career ended at 163 games and 17 points – still impressive numbers for a fifth-round pick out of the 2013 NHL Draft.
• The Edmonton Oilers have hired the recently-retired Zack Kassian as a pro scout, per NHL.com’s Jim Matheson. Kassian spent 12 years in the NHL, seven being served in Edmonton. He was never much of a scorer, but fought his way into a middle-six role as the hardnosed and gritty presence to back Edmonton’s finesse players. He even worked into occasional power-play usage – despite a career-high of just 34 points – thanks to his ability to body opponents out of shooting lanes. Kassian’s career ended with 661 games and 203 points. He’ll now look to translate that experience to the hockey ops side of house, supporting a Oilers scouting room that recently departed with longtime pro scout and assistant general manager Brad Holland.

The Conn Smythe Trophy winner from last year’s Stanley Cup run is one of just five players remaining from Vegas’ inaugural 2017-18 season and he is the Golden Knights all-time point leader with 417 points in seven seasons with the team. While both sides have mutual interest in an extension, the Golden Knights are pushed right up against the salary cap and have several key free agents including Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Alec Martinez, and Anthony Mantha.

In other Golden Knights notes:

• Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague reportedly has a lower-body injury that will not require surgery (according to SinBin Vegas). Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon told the media that the 25-year-old should be healthy and available for the start of next season. Hague suffered the injury in game 1 against the Dallas Stars and did not play for the rest of the series. Hague took his physicality to another level this season, dishing out 153 hits in just 73 games. The Kitchener, Ontario native doesn’t put up much in the way of offence and struggled down the stretch going scoreless in the final 20 games.
• SinBin Vegas also reported that Kelly McCrimmon offered an update on the status of goaltender Robin Lehner. McCrimmon told reporters that if Lehner can’t play next season he will remain on the long-term injured reserve. McCrimmon went on to add that it might very well be the case that Lehner can’t play and the news isn’t overly surprising given that Lehner missed the last two seasons and hasn’t played since April 2022 after undergoing hip surgery. Lehner has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of $5MM and if he remains on LTIR it would allow Vegas to exceed the cap by that amount.

For many teams nowadays, long-term injured reserve (LTIR) is an important tool in helping teams keep below the salary cap’s Upper Limit, which is set at $83.5MM for 2023-24. It’s not as straightforward as it seems at first glance, though. Placing a player on LTIR does not eliminate their cap hit from the team’s books until they’re activated again. Instead, a team only gains cap relief if they exceed the Upper Limit, and the specific amount of relief received depends on the team’s cap situation on the day they place a player on LTIR. A more detailed explanation of how LTIR works can be found on CapFriendly.

All LTIR situations are not created equal. To be eligible for LTIR, a player must miss at least ten games or 24 days of action. However, they don’t need to be placed on LTIR if they’re projected to miss more than that amount of time. Oftentimes, a team operating far below the Upper Limit that won’t need any relief will simply keep the player on standard injured reserve, especially if they’re relying on an injured player’s cap hit to stay above the Lower Limit (set at $61.7MM next season).

With that said, here is a list of players who are projected to meet the injury requirements for LTIR to start 2023-24:

Atlantic Division

Buffalo Sabres – Jack Quinn

This offseason was a tough break for the young Quinn, who sustained an Achilles injury during offseason training in June and is expected to be out of the lineup through Thanksgiving. While eligible, he’s unlikely to actually be placed on LTIR. He’s still on his entry-level contract and carries a marginal cap hit of $863K, making a move extremely inconsequential to the Sabres, who CapFriendly projects with over $6MM in space.

Florida Panthers – Aaron Ekblad, Brandon Montour

The Panthers are set to begin the season without the services of their top two defensemen, thanks to shoulder injuries sustained and exacerbated during their run to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Combined, the players carry a rather significant $11MM cap hit, which should give the Panthers some season-opening flexibility. Ekblad’s expected to miss more time than Montour, but neither is expected to miss the whole season – both should be back in the fold by the time the calendar flips to 2024. CapFriendly currently projects the Panthers dipping into LTIR relief by $1.175MM to start the season.

Montreal Canadiens – Carey Price

The team’s legendary netminder isn’t expected to play again after a knee injury, and he hasn’t suited up since the end of the 2021-22 campaign. He’ll likely spend the last three seasons of his contract (carrying a $10.5MM cap hit) on LTIR. As we covered earlier in the week, Montreal is in a bit of a no man’s land with Price’s contract. They’ll likely either look to shed salary to get under the Upper Limit entirely (which they currently sit around $5MM over) or add money to maximize’s Price’s LTIR relief, which they could then weaponize in-season to be a cap broker for trades.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Brent Seabrook

Like Price, Seabrook will be on LTIR for the remainder of his $6.875MM cap hit contract, which expires next summer. Acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks after his injury made it clear he wouldn’t play again, Seabrook has provided additional options for cap flexibility for the Lightning over the last two seasons. Tampa is expected to use close to all of Seabrook’s potential relief to stay compliant throughout the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Jake Muzzin, Matt Murray

While not confirmed, Muzzin’s playing future remains in serious doubt after sustaining a cervical spine fracture at the beginning of last season. No recent update has been issued on his recovery, and he’s expected to miss the entire 2023-24 campaign and will spend the final year of his contract on LTIR. Murray’s situation is shrouded in much more mystery, however. The team announced last month he’d begin next season on LTIR, but no specific details of his injury were confirmed, and no timetable was issued for a potential return. Murray missed significant time last season with a concussion and an adductor injury.

Metropolitan Division

Philadelphia Flyers – Ryan Ellis

Forwards Cam Atkinson and Sean Couturier are expected to return to the lineup after missing all of last season with injuries, but the same can’t be said for Ryan Ellis. President of hockey operations Keith Jones said a few days ago that Ellis is unlikely to “be able to continue his playing career because of a torn psoas muscle in his back.” Ellis played just four games for the Flyers after they acquired him from the Nashville Predators in 2021 before sustaining the career-ending injury.

Washington Capitals – Max Pacioretty

Pacioretty’s timeline for a return after sustaining back-to-back Achilles injuries isn’t clear, but he likely won’t be available to the team to start the season and should meet the requirements for LTIR. The financial circumstances surrounding the potential relief will be tricky to navigate given the performance bonuses included in his contract, however. Pacioretty should be joining the Capitals after signing a one-year deal last month, sometime in November or December if everything goes well in his recovery.

Central Division

Arizona Coyotes – Jakub Voracek, Shea Weber, Bryan Little

All three are players acquired by the Coyotes for the express consideration of helping them stay above the cap floor – which they are now far above after being big players on the free-agent market this summer. Nonetheless, all three are done with their NHL careers due to various injuries and will remain members of the Coyotes organization by contract only.

Colorado Avalanche – Gabriel Landeskog

Colorado will be without their captain for a second straight season after the winger underwent a cartilage transplant on his right knee this summer. Landeskog hasn’t played since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2022, a playoff run during which he played through a knee injury. He’s signed through 2029, and there’s still the potential he plays again, although it won’t be anytime soon.

Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks – Isac Lundeström

Lundeström projects to be on the shelf through next January after sustaining an Achilles injury during offseason training in Sweden. Given the Ducks are far from the Upper Limit, and Lundeström carries just a $1.8MM cap hit, Anaheim could keep him on standard injured reserve for the duration of his absence.

Vegas Golden Knights – Robin Lehner

All has been quiet on Lehner’s health after he missed all of last season. The All-Star-caliber netminder had double hip surgery last summer, keeping him out for the entire 2022-23 campaign. He was not around the team at all during their run to the 2023 Stanley Cup, and the team has issued no updates on his recovery since undergoing the surgery last summer. Without any indication that he’s close to a return, Lehner closes out our list.

The main point behind his reasoning is that with netminder Adin Hill eventually hitting the unrestricted free-agent market this offseason, having the cap space this summer to retain Hill may be Lehner’s undoing in Vegas. If the Golden Knights were to buy out the remaining 2-year, $10MM remaining on Lehner’s contract, Vegas would be hit with a $750K cap penalty next season, $2.25MM the following year, and $1.75 the next two years.

Obviously, the injury concerns surrounding Lehner are well known, as he missed the entirety of the 2022-23 regular season, and remains out during the Golden Knight’s playoff run. In his two full seasons in Vegas (subtracting the three regular-season games he played during the 2019-20 season following his trade from the Chicago Blackhawks), Lehner has posted a 36-21-4 record in 63 games played, garnering a .909 SV% and a 2.66 GAA.

Unfortunately, although the win record and GAA have both been positive for Lehner, the SV% has left a lot to be desired. On the other hand, Hill has been well above average since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks in late August of last year. In 27 games played for the Golden Knights this year, Hill posted a 16-7-1 record, accruing a .915 SV% and a 2.45 GAA. As both he, Jonathan Quick, and Laurent Brossoit enter unrestricted free agency this year, the potential Western Conference champions will have difficult choices to make in net this offseason.

Other snapshots:

• In an opinion piece from Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet, a hypothetical question is raised as to whether or not the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets would make an ideal trade fit this offseason. With plenty of buzz surrounding the potential rebuild of the Jets this summer, Wiebe questions whether Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck could be potential acquisitions for the Hurricanes. Both players will be pending unrestricted free agents after next season, and both players fit organizational needs at the moment. Martin Necas being the only true top-six center in the organization, and both Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta becoming UFA’s this summer, the Hurricanes could look to poach the Jets for resources.
• Mark Divver of the NHL reports that both Eric Parker and Ben Wozney from Bowling Green State University have received development camp invites from the Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken, respectively. Parker appeared in eight games for Bowling Green, scoring one goal and three assists, as Wozney scored two goals and 13 assists over 36 games for the Falcons.

The Swedish netminder remains one of the best around when healthy, but Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon today didn’t have any update on Lehner’s status moving forward. McCrimmon noted Lehner is still undergoing rehab on both of his hips, but didn’t have a recent update on his progress. Lehner’s absence hasn’t hindered the Golden Knights much this season, and he could be a trade candidate if he does get healthy to clear some cap space. The 2019 Vezina Trophy nominee is locked in at a $5MM cap hit through 2025, making him an affordable option for a team in need of a starting netminder.

• Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis offered some clarity today on the injury that kept star winger Andre Burakovsky out of the lineup down the stretch of the season. Per Francis, Burakovsky tore his groin on his first shift after the All-Star break and suffered multiple setbacks in his recovery, sidelining him for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. The 28-year-old was having a spectacular first season in Seattle before the injury, scoring 39 points in 49 games in a top-six role.
• After selecting him in 12th overall in last week’s WHL Prospects Draft, the Edmonton Oil Kings have officially brought 14-year-old Joe Iginla, son of Calgary Flames legend Jarome Iginla, into the organization on a scholarship and development agreement. Iginla posted monster numbers at the U15 level this season with his dad coaching, scoring 65 points in 27 games, and even got some looks in U16 and U17 play. Iginla is not NHL draft eligible until 2026 and is not expected to join the Oil Kings until the 2024-25 season.

Theodore is having another strong offensive season, albeit in limited action. The usually durable defenseman has missed 27 games this season but has still managed to put up 41 points in 54 games. Theodore hasn’t dealt with injuries often in his career and hasn’t missed significant time since joining Vegas for the 2017-18 season.

While Theodore’s powerplay time and production have dropped, the 27-year-old has never been better at even strength. Theodore has 28 points at five on five in 54 games, which is one off his career high that he set last year in 78 games. Despite his injuries this season, Theodore remains a strong offensive defenseman and would likely see significant time on the Golden Knights second unit when he does make his return.

Vegas appears to be getting healthy at exactly the right time as both Jack Eichel and Mark Stone also skated this morning. Stone was also in a blue non-contact jersey, while Eichel took the optional skate in a regular practice jersey. The Golden Knights have overcome an awful lot of injuries this season including long term injuries to Robin Lehner, Nolan Patrick, and Stone. Despite the man games lost the Golden Knights still find themselves as one of the favorites to come out of a wide-open Western Conference.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy’s comments added to that uncertainty today. While he did say Brossoit was healing well from his surgery, Cassidy wasn’t sure if Brossoit would return just weeks into the season or closer to the end of the calendar year instead. However, he did still reaffirm that Brossoit is tracking to be a healthy member of the Golden Knights this season.

Brossoit had a tough 2021-22 campaign, as did much of the Golden Knights team, but he’ll need to rebound in his second season in Vegas in the season-long absence of Robin Lehner. Brossoit does have some of the pressure taken off him with Hill’s acquisition, but the’s still the most experienced of Vegas’ now trio of NHL goalies.

In the meantime, Vegas hopes that Thompson’s strong end to the 2021-22 season, nearly miraculously getting them back into the playoffs despite anemic offensive play, carries over through training camp into the start of this season. They’ll also hope for Hill’s strong start to last season before going down with injury repeats itself as well.

Brossoit is entering the second season of a two-year deal worth $2.325MM per season. He finished last year with a 10-9-3 record in 24 games, just the second time in his career that he’s played more than 20 games in a season. He struggled statistically with a .895 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average, both worse than his career average numbers.

For a team that is desperate to return to the playoffs next season, a Thompson-Brossoit tandem seems like a risk, at least on paper. Thompson, 25, did nearly single-handedly save the Golden Knights’ playoff hopes last spring but has just 20 NHL contests under his belt. Brossoit, 29, has served as a lightly-used backup goalie for the past few seasons, and is currently rehabbing from hip surgery. McCrimmon stated that Brossoit’s rehab has been going well and that he should be ready early next season, if he’s not ready for opening night, but even at full health this tandem is one that carries significant downside risk. With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that the Golden Knights’ hopes for next season will rest on Thompson’s shoulders.

Now, for some other notes regarding the Golden Knights:

• The goalie previously slated to be the Golden Knights’ starter, Robin Lehner, will miss the entirety of next season after undergoing hip surgery. Today McCrimmon elaborated on the nature of Lehner’s operation, stating that he is undergoing double hip surgery and has already had the procedure on one of his hips. Much has been made of the difficulties goaltenders face when recovering from hip ailments, and one has to assume that recovering from double hip surgery is even more difficult. But with all the talent Lehner possesses, his recovery from these injuries will be extremely important to the future of the Golden Knights.
• One other topic McCrimmon touched in his press conference is the status of restricted free agent defenseman Nicolas Hague. Hague is coming off of a two-year stretch where he has established himself as a quality NHLer, and is undoubtedly looking for a contract that reflects his newly-proven value. McCrimmon stated that “priority number-one” for this offseason is getting Hague under a contract, and with Lehner now set to hit long-term injured reserve he should have the necessary wiggle room under the cap to get a deal done. Given the Golden Knights’ ever-present need for salary-cap space (even with Lehner’s eventual placement on LTIR) a bridge deal could make the most sense, though one cannot rule out a long-term pact. The Golden Knights have previously shown a willingness to lock-up young blueliners to long-term pacts, as they did with Zach Whitecloud, so perhaps Hague receives a similar (albeit likely more expensive) deal.

Even if Brossoit is able to return rather quickly, he doesn’t offer a huge upgrade. The 29-year-old has a career .905 save percentage, which includes an .895 in 24 appearances for Vegas last season. While he has NHL experience he certainly isn’t the kind of goaltender you feel comfortable with if you want to be a Stanley Cup contender.

Free agents

So one can assume that they will make a goaltending addition at some point either before the start of the season, or at some point during it. The problem, of course, is that the free agent market has been picked clean at this point. There are only seven unsigned goaltenders who played a game at the NHL level last season. Braden Holtby, who leads that group with 24 appearances, is dealing with an injury of his own and is not expected to play this season.

Andrew Hammond, who is second with 11 games played last season, recently signed a professional tryout with the Florida Panthers. That certainly doesn’t block him from signing with Vegas but he isn’t the answer for a playoff contender at this point. Jean-Francois Berube, Garret Sparks, Cory Schneider, Michael McNiven, and Adam Huska are the others, who all come with similarly limited upside.

Trades

The team that immediately sprang to almost everyone’s mind is the San Jose Sharks, who have Kaapo Kahkonen, James Reimer, and Adin Hill all signed for at least $2.175MM next season. All three would need to clear waivers to be sent down, meaning there already seemed to be a trade coming at some point. The fact that San Jose signed Aaron Dell (and to a lesser extent Strauss Mann) only furthered that idea.

Both Reimer and Hill have just one year left on their contracts and either one could potentially be targeted. The 34-year-old Reimer had a .911 save percentage in 48 games last season and Hill, though he hast just 74 games of NHL experience, has performed pretty well whenever given the chance. The 26-year-old stands 6’6″ and has a career .908, despite never playing on a very good team.

There are some other interesting options around the league though. Veteran netminder Anton Khudobin was suggested by Saad Yousuf of The Athletic as a stop-gap option, while someone like Semyon Varlamov is an interesting candidate given the Islanders’ expected cap issues.

Part of the question for Vegas might be whether they believe Lehner is going to be return for the 2023-24 season, or if they need to look at a more long-term solution. Perhaps someone like 26-year-old Alex Nedeljkovic of the Detroit Red Wings could be an answer if it is the latter. The Red Wings recently made a hefty commitment to Ville Husso in free agency and Nedeljkovic will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

John Gibson’s name always emerges in trade discussions, warranted or not, and he’ll likely be linked again this time around. The Ducks have Anthony Stolarz and goaltender-of-the-future Lukas Dostal in place, and the Golden Knights have never been shy about going after big (expensive) names. The potential trade candidates are endless, though because Vegas now has so much cap flexibility through long-term injured reserve, another option has emerged in the conversation this afternoon

Offer sheet

Jake Oettinger still doesn’t have a contract, and if the Golden Knights wanted to really make a move, they could try to get him to sign an offer sheet. The important thing to note here is that because they don’t have their own 2023 second-round pick they would be limited in what they can put on the table. Unless they recover that pick from the Buffalo Sabres (who received it as part of the Jack Eichel trade) the Golden Knights will only be able to table an offer sheet with a certain average annual value.

This year’s compensation table looks like:

Anything with a second-round pick would be off the table. One other thing to mention about these totals is that it is either the average annual value or for a contract over five years in length, the total divided by five. For example, if they were to sign a goaltender to a seven-year, $42MM contract the cap hit would be $6MM but the value for compensation would be $8.4MM.

It would be a tricky needle to thread for the Golden Knights to find an offer sheet that Oettinger would actually sign, the Dallas Stars would actually fail to match, and fits their compensation abilities without that second-round pick.

There is of course the option of doing nothing, and allowing Thompson, who played well last season, to try and run with the job. If Vegas’ history is anything to go by, they’re at least considering a much bigger move. Will they be able to pull it off?

This news follows Lehner’s previous shoulder surgery in May, which ended his season early. At the time, there were reports that he was dealing with multiple issues, including a serious hip injury, though the decision to have another procedure was certainly not expected at this point in the offseason. The Golden Knights, who have made several cap moves this summer including shedding Max Pacioretty’s deal for no return, are now basically down to Logan Thompson as a realistic NHL option.

Laurent Brossoit, the team’s backup that was signed to a two-year, $4.65MM contract before last season, also underwent hip surgery earlier this year and is not guaranteed to be ready for the start of the year. Thompson and Michael Hutchinson are the only two other netminders in the organization with any NHL experience.

While it means that Lehner’s contract can be moved to long-term injured reserve, something the Golden Knights were already using after acquiring Shea Weber’s contract, there are now just two months left to the start of the season, and not a lot of capable starting options available. Thompson had a late-season breakout this year with a .914 save percentage in 19 appearances but the undrafted netminder’s career experience to just 20 NHL games. There’s no telling how he would react to carrying the starter’s load for a whole year, even if he has performed admirably in the minor leagues.

The question for Lehner now becomes whether or not his career will continue after this lost season, as major hip surgeries can often derail a goaltender’s performance even after they are medically cleared to return.

April 25: The original reports from Emily Kaplan of ESPN and Jesse Granger of The Athletic have proven true, finally. The Vegas Golden Knights today announced that Robin Lehner will indeed undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. The team released the following statement:

Robin has done his best to battle through this injury he sustained February 9, and we were hopeful that rest and rehab would allow him to complete the season.

He initially rehabbed and was able to return to play March 1. At times rest and rehab were effective, but ultimately Robin, in consultation with team medical staff, determined that this is the best course of action.

Kaplan tweets that Lehner told the Golden Knights last Thursday that he was going to get surgery, and that the team doctor agreed to that course of action on the weekend. The team had him serve as backup on Sunday because of, according to Kaplan’s sources, cap implications.

Vegas has recalled Jiri Patera from the Henderson Silver Knights.

Lehner, 30, had a 19-12-1 record and posted a .910 save percentage in the 33 games before February 9, when the team states he suffered the injury. In the 11 games since (including that game against the Calgary Flames), he went 4-5-1 with an .898. During that time he suffered another injury, this time believed to be a lower-body issue, which kept him out for an additional few weeks.

It’s been a nightmare season, and one that may end up not resulting in the Golden Knights going to the playoffs at all. The team could still technically qualify, though it will be difficult as the Dallas Stars remain three points ahead of them. Tomorrow night when the two teams go head to head could very well eliminate Vegas for the first time since their inception, and cause a ripple of negative effects on the organization.

Most notable is the first-round draft pick that the team gave up to acquire Jack Eichel earlier in the year. While it is top-10 protected for this year, if it were to transfer to 2023 it does not have any protection. Missing the playoffs again next season still doesn’t seem likely for a team with so much firepower, but as the front office continues to make huge salary cap commitments, there is some uncertainty over how long the Golden Knights can stay competitive.

For Lehner specifically, major surgery will certainly complicate his own future. The 30-year-old goaltender is signed through the 2024-25 season and carries a $5MM cap hit, but the Golden Knights have proven that they hold no loyalty to a player if he isn’t providing them with what they believe is the best on-ice performance. With a no-trade clause that can only block deals to eight teams, there isn’t a lot Lehner could do if the team was looking at another switch in goal.

On the season, he’ll finish with a .907 save percentage through 44 appearances, his lowest mark since the 2014-15 season when he was still with the Ottawa Senators. The two-time Jennings Trophy winner will also likely face a long rehab, though no timeline on his recovery has been released at this point.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

I don’t know. And I don’t know how bad Raants is. I’m hoping it’s not too serious. We’ll know more in a few days.

Obviously, this is not a confidence-inspiring statement. But one has to keep in mind that Brind’Amour made these comments immediately after the game, so it is likely that he did not have enough information to make a more definitive statement on Raanta’s health. Carolina has big hopes for this season and is in a fight with the New York Rangers in what remains of this season to lock up the Metropolitan Division title. Raanta has battled injury issues throughout his NHL career, so this development cannot be a shocking one for the team, but it does come at an extremely unfortunate time with Raanta thrust into the number-one role with Andersen’s injury. For Carolina, this injury scare is ideally only a momentary setback, given that having Raanta back in time for Tuesday’s contest against the Rangers (where Carolina can clinch the Metropolitan Division title with a win in any fashion) is of utmost importance for the team.

Here are some other injury updates on goalies across the NHL:

• Another twist in the ongoing Robin Lehner saga came during today’s Vegas Golden Knights morning skate. Lehner was not present, instead, only Logan Thompson and the team’s emergency backup were in attendance, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic. Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer stated that for tonight’s all-important contest against the San Jose Sharks, Thompson would be the starter and Lehner would be the backup. Obviously, given prior reporting on Lehner getting season-ending surgery and his absence from the morning skate today, the prospect of Lehner being the backup for tonight’s game is a confusing one. The entire situation is likely to become a lot clearer by the time puck drops tonight, though.
• The Canadiens recalled goalie Cayden Primeau from the Laval Rocket on an emergency basis in advance of tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins, and there was speculation on what that recall meant for the recently returned goalie Carey Price. Price was unavailable to the media after the team’s loss to the Ottawa Senators because he was receiving treatments from trainers, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. Coach Martin St. Louis stated that the callup was not indicative of an injury-related setback for Price, but instead a measure to give him rest as he settles into the rigors of NHL action. Per St. Louis, Price will not travel with the team to New York for their tie against the Rangers but speculates that he could play on Friday in the team’s season finale versus the Florida Panthers.