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Robin Lehner

West Notes: Karlsson, Lehner, Parayko, Walker

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The Sharks will be without defenseman Erik Karlsson for at least the next two games, notes Jon Williams of NBC Sports Bay Area.  The veteran is dealing with another groin injury though it’s not believed to be related to his previous groin injuries.  Nevertheless, head coach Bob Boughner indicated yesterday to reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, that Karlsson’s injury is a nagging one that he had been playing through.  However, with just four assists in 13 games this season, it’s certainly fair to wonder if the veteran would be better served by sitting for a little while and trying to come back at full strength.  With a record-setting $11.5MM AAV, San Jose needs much more offense than they’ve received from Karlsson thus far and perhaps this groin issue is at least partially to blame.

Elsewhere in the West Division:

  • Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner isn’t expected to travel with the team for this weekend’s outdoor game at Lake Tahoe, reports David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link). However, he is expected to return to the Vegas lineup sooner than later.  Lehner last played on February 7th and has been battling an upper-body injury.  Marc-Andre Fleury has been quite strong in his absence as he tries to retake his former number one role.
  • While the Blues are getting Marco Scandella and Torey Krug back tonight from their respective upper-body injuries, it’s not all good news for their back end as Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch relays that Colton Parayko’s nagging injury is enough to keep him out of the lineup. The 27-year-old was expected to have a big season following the departure of Alex Pietrangelo but has managed just a goal and seven assists through 16 games and was only able to play 15 minutes on Monday against Arizona.
  • The Kings are close to welcoming back Sean Walker to their lineup as Lisa Dillman of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the defenseman is expected to play at some point on their six-game road trip. The 26-year-old has missed the last six games after undergoing nasal surgery after he took a slapshot to the face in late-January.

Snapshots: AHL, Golden Knights, Blues

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While there is now a concrete plan in place for the start of the upcoming NHL season, there is still some uncertainty regarding the fate of the AHL.  As things stand, the plan is to start on or around February 5th but without fans being able to attend and varying health and safety regulations throughout the cities where they play, it’s safe to say that there are questions abound.

With that in mind, EP Rinkside’s Patrick Williams notes that the Return to Play committee is set to meet tomorrow with a Board of Governors meeting set for next week so we should have a better idea of what the AHL schedule will look like shortly.  As was the case in the ECHL, there may be some teams that don’t want to operate this season due to an inability to have fans or a desire to shrink the schedule even further from the roughly 40 games that could be played by starting in early February.  Not every question will likely be able to be answered over this next week but there should be a clearer picture soon on what the AHL campaign may wind up looking like.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Back in October, the Golden Knights indicated that goaltender Robin Lehner would be undergoing shoulder surgery but that procedure won’t stop him from being ready for training camp as GM Kelly McCrimmon told reporters, including Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that the team is fully healthy heading into camp. That news is also notable for sophomore center Cody Glass who has clearly fully recovered from his knee surgery back in March.  McCrimmon also indicated that prospect Peyton Krebs, who is currently with Canada at the World Juniors, will get an opportunity to be evaluated at camp.  The 19-year-old isn’t AHL-eligible as things stand but he could be a taxi squad option while waiting for the WHL to start their season.
  • While many prospects will be returning to North America from their international loans if they haven’t already, that won’t be the case for Blues prospect Alexei Toropchenko. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the forward will remain on loan to Kunlun of the KHL instead of participating in training camp with St. Louis.  The 21-year-old spent all of last season in the minors and has six goals and two assists in 24 games so far this season.  Thomas adds that the team is still deciding on whether or not to bring in Nikita Alexandrov for camp or allow him to stay back home in Germany to keep training.

Marc-Andre Fleury Happy To Stay In Vegas, Share Net In 2020-21

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When the Vegas Golden Knights signed Robin Lehner to a five-year, $25MM contract extension, it seemed certain that usurped starter Marc-Andre Fleury and his $7MM price tag would be elsewhere by next season. However, it has been weeks since Lehner’s signing and between the high cost of moving a contract like Fleury’s and concerns over Lehner’s recovery from upcoming shoulder surgery, it now seems more likely than not that Fleury will be back with Vegas next season. If this is indeed the case, the respected veteran is just fine with that.

Fleury tells Jean-Francois Chaumont in a recent piece by Le Journal De Montreal that he too assumed he would be elsewhere next season and is still a bit surprised that the Knights are committing so much cap space to their goalie tandem next season. The following is a translated except from his interview:

I was stressed. I watched the news, it wasn’t always good rumors for me. There are always a ton of rumors, but there aren’t many that come true… I still found it surprising as an outcome. My name was circulating quite a bit for a trade. But I am happy. I am lucky enough to stay in Vegas. I will still play for a good team. I won’t have to move, which is also a good thing…  I am ready to share. This year, I also expect it to be a strange season. There will probably be several games in a few days, there will be a condensed schedule. I think not all teams will have the choice to use their two goalies. For this year, it will be a good thing to have two competitive goalies. It will give our team a good chance.

Fleury’s point about the likelihood of a condensed 2020-21 schedule explains both why there was interest from other teams in the high-priced veteran but also partly why Vegas decided to keep their duo together. Having two competent goalies will be crucial this coming season and the Knights realize, even with their talented roster, that a reliable tandem is key. Fleury himself even admits that Lehner is the future for the Golden Knights and will almost certainly serve as the “starter” once he is back to full strength. And the soon-to-be 36-year-old Fleury is also better off as a “backup” at this point in his career. However, with the high likelihood of fewer days off and more back-to-backs this coming season, it will be more of a 1A and 1B scenario for Lehner and Fleury and the pair could be one of the best goaltending combos in the NHL. What happens beyond next season – Fleury has an additional year remaining on his contract – remains a mystery, but Vegas has figured out their finances and are well-positioned in net for a busy 2020-21.

 

Robin Lehner To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner is set to undergo shoulder surgery next week, GM Kelly McCrimmon told reporters including NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika (Twitter link).  The procedure is being termed as a ’cleanup’ and the team expects that Lehner will be ready to participate in training camp which, as thing stand, is pegged for sometime in December with the NHL currently targeting a January 1st start.

The 29-year-old signed a five-year, $25MM contract with Vegas last week, entrenching himself as their goalie of the future.  It was a big improvement from a stability perspective for Lehner after he played on three straight one-year deals.  Last season between the Blackhawks and Golden Knights, he posted a .920 SV% along with a 2.89 GAA in 36 games.  His GAA dropped considerably in the playoffs to 1.97 in 16 starts with a .917 SV% which was all the Golden Knights needed to see to commit to him.

While veteran Marc-Andre Fleury has been a speculative trade candidate following the signing (plus the recent addition of Alex Pietrangelo), McCrimmon stated (via Cotsonika) that they will not be moving the 37-year-old.  That ensures that they’ll have a quality insurance policy behind Lehner given this procedure but it also means that their cap trimming will have to come from elsewhere.

Vegas Golden Knights, Robin Lehner Agree To Five-Year Extension

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As anticipated for nearly a month now, the Vegas Golden Knights and goaltender Robin Lehner have agreed to a five-year, $25MM contract extension.  The deal has been officially announced with plenty of social media fanfare in typical Knights fashion. Lehner would have been a free agent and highly sought-after commodity when the market opened next Friday, but instead will stay in Las Vegas.  PuckPedia reports that the deal breaks down as follows:

2020-21: $1MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, eight-team NTC
2021-22: $5MM salary, eight-team NTC
2022-23: $6.5MM salary, eight-team NTC
2023-24: $6MM salary, five-team NTC
2024-25: $4.5MM salary, five-team NTC

This new deal is a win-win for both sides. Despite playing at an elite level for the past three seasons, Lehner has only landed one-year contracts and played for fours different team in that span. His goal has always been to find a long-term home and his fit with Vegas has been obvious. At a $5MM AAV, this deal may not be at the top of Lehner’s potential market value, but it provides him with security and the chance to compete for a Stanley Cup each year. As for the Knights, goaltending was not considered a major area of need when the team acquired Lehner at the trade deadline as the intended backup to Marc-Andre Fleury, but it would have become an issue down the road as the 35-year-old Fleury neared the end of his contract with his play continuing to slip. Vegas has merely solved their problem in net before it had a chance to occur. Of course, Fleury’s days with the team are now numbered as Vegas likely cannot afford to keep both goalies, even at a very fair price for Lehner. With limited cap space this off-season, the Golden Knights will have to move their veteran keeper and officially hand the starting job to Lehner.

The other player impacted by this deal is UFA-to-be Jacob Markstrom. With the 29-year-old Lehner off the market, the 30-year-old Markstrom is now the clear-cut best available free agent goalie and will see an increase in his leverage to command a term and salary that could come in higher than Lehner’s.

TSN’s Frank Seravalli was to the first to report that the deal had been agreed upon to earlier today.

Robin Lehner Nearing Long-Term Extension With Vegas Golden Knights

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When word emerged earlier today that  Robin Lehner and the Vegas Golden Knights had come to terms on a five-year, $25MM contract extension, the goaltender was quick to squash the rumors. Lehner said “it’s not true” and called the rumors “annoying” when speaking to the media – “I’m here to win a Cup, not discuss this stuff.” It seemed at the time that maybe the reports were truly erroneous.

The only issue with Lehner’s vehement dismissal of the contract terms though is that reliable sources have since come forward to corroborate the extension rumors. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, who knows the Knights as well as anyone, writes that Vegas does plan to extend Lehner and those talks have indeed begun. While he echoes Lehner’s comment that “nothing is finalized”, Granger stops short of dismissing the possibility that the two sides could be close to a resolution. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski goes on step further, reporting that there is in fact a handshake agreement in place between the Golden Knights and Lehner on a new deal. He also believes that the five-year term and $25MM price tag are accurate.

Should the purported extension come to fruition, it will be a win-win for both sides. Despite playing at an elite level for the past three seasons, Lehner has only landed one-year contracts and is playing on his fourth different team in that span. His goal has always been to find a long-term home and his fit with Vegas has been obvious. At a $5MM AAV, this deal may not be at the top of Lehner’s potential market value, but it would provide him with security and a the chance to compete for a Stanley Cup each year. As for the Knights, goaltending was not considered a major area of need when the team acquired Lehner at the trade deadline as the intended backup to Marc-Andre Fleury, but it would have become an issue down the road as the 35-year-old Fleury neared the end of his contract with his play continuing to slip. Once an extension with Lehner is finalized, Vegas will have merely solved their problem in net before it had a chance to occur. Of course, Fleury’s days with the team are now numbered as Vegas cannot afford to keep both goalies, even at a very fair price for Lehner. With limited cap space this off-season, the Golden Knights will have to move their veteran keeper and officially hand the starting job to Lehner.

Goaltending Notes: Lehner, Lundqvist, Free Agency

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Robin Lehner has shutout another opponent, blanking the Dallas Stars last night to even the Western Conference Finals at a game apiece. That was Lehner’s fourth shutout of the postseason, raising his overall save percentage to .924 and lowering his goals-against-average to a measly 1.84. The big trade acquisition has been outstanding for the Golden Knights since arriving, which makes it easy to see why the team is trying to keep him around long-term.

Jesse Granger of The Athletic writes that talks have already begun between the Golden Knights and Lehner on a long-term extension, though it’s not clear exactly what price tag a new contract would come with. A move of that nature however would likely spell the end of Marc-Andre Fleury’s time in Vegas, if only because it would be too expensive to keep them both on the roster. Fleury, who has also performed well in his lessened role this postseason, has two more years on his contract at a $7MM cap hit and holds a 10-team no-trade clause.

  • Another legendary goaltender may be getting pushed out this offseason, as Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic writes that Henrik Lundqvist’s career with the New York Rangers is coming to an end as the team “must buy him out and they know it.” Lundqvist has just a single year left on his contract but has been passed by two different young goaltenders in New York. A buyout would save the Rangers just $3MM of his $8.5MM cap hit in 2020-21 and force a $1.5MM penalty onto the books for 2021-22.
  • If Lehner re-signs with the Golden Knights, and the Vancouver Canucks manage to bring back Jacob Markstrom as they indicated yesterday, the free agent pool for goaltenders suddenly doesn’t look quite as impressive. Sure, there are still plenty of names available like Thomas Greiss, Anton Khudobin, and Cam Talbot, but if Markstrom and Lehner both re-up with their current teams it is going to leave Braden Holtby as the only UFA starter that isn’t already in his mid-thirties. That can only help Holtby’s market, but it also could lead more teams to consider the trade route with options like Matt Murray and Frederik Andersen both potentially on the market.

Pacific Notes: Fleury, Myers, Smith

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The Vegas Golden Knights goaltending controversy could get more interesting in the coming hours. After netting his team a 3-0 shutout last night against Vancouver, Robin Lehner would seem like a solid candidate to start again tonight for Game 4 of their series. However, Lehner is 1-7-1 in his career on second nights when he plays both ends of a back-to-back series. That could allow the opportunity for veteran Marc-Andre Fleury to get the start tonight.

In fact, NHL.com’s John Shannon reports that there is an internal belief that Fleury will get the nod against Vancouver in Game 4. However, Vegas coach Pete DeBoer refused to confirm that belief:

“I’m not going to confirm any lineup decisions we’ve made,” said DeBoer (via Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen). “You’ll see tonight. We’ve got a plan, and we’re going to continue on the path that we know is the right one for our group.”

However, considering that DeBoer and Vegas management has continued to claim that it is a 1 and 1a situation, a Lehner start would likely negate that stand. Fleury, on the other hand, has appeared in just two appearances so far in the playoffs. If he does start tonight, The Athletic’s Jesse Granger notes it will be his first appearance in 14 days, his second game in 23 days and his third game in 174 days.

An official word isn’t likely until just before gametime.

  • Speaking about unknowns, TSN’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers was skating today, although there is no word on whether the blueliner is available for Game 4 tonight against the Golden Knights. Myers, out with a shoulder injury since Aug. 14, wasn’t expected to be ready until later this week, according to The Province’s Patrick Johnston, who added that the two-day break after this game could benefit him. However, Dhaliwal suggests there is a possibility that he could be ready tonight depending on how he responds to treatment. Again, he will be a game-time decision.
  • In an interview with The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman (subscription required), Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland admitted the Oilers will keep with a tandem goaltending situation. However, he also added that while he was pleased with the team’s goaltending for much of the season, he still needs time to assess whether they will make any changes, especially since veteran Mike Smith is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins adds that Smith is likely to be re-signed by the Oilers if Holland can find a way to upgrade Mikko Koskinen and his $4.5MM contract. If the team can unload Koskinen, that could improve Smith’s chances of staying in Edmonton. Otherwise, the team would likely look to let Smith walk and hope to find an upgrade in net after that.

Vegas’ Fleury Downplays Agent’s Backstabbing Tweet

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury met with the media today to discuss a tweet that came out Saturday from his agent Allan Walsh of the goalie being impaled in the back with a sword, suggesting the veteran is unhappy with his current backup role with the team. Fleury said he has no interest in being a distraction to the team and his agent was just defending him. He asked his agent to remove the tweet and Walsh did that.

“Regarding that picture that came up, I just wanted to say that Allan has been my agent for a long time,” said Fleury (via The Athletic’s Jesse Granger). “I’ve known him since I was 15. I really appreciate his passion for the game. I think it was a way to defend me for not playing much, but I’m here to win with my team.”

Fleury, who will likely be 36 years old when the 2020-21 season begins, played in just one game during the team’s five-game series with the Chicago Blackhawks as the Golden Knights and head coach Peter DeBoer have put their faith in trade deadline acquisition Robin Lehner instead. Lehner hasn’t allowed more than three goals in any playoff game, including two of the team’s round-robin games against the top Western Conference teams. Fleury did perform well in his one game against the Blackhawks, holding Chicago to one goal and posting a .963 save percentage. While many expected a even split between the two goaltenders when Vegas acquired Lehner for a second-round pick, Malcolm Subban and prospect Slava Demin, that hasn’t been the case as DeBoer seems to prefer Lehner.

Of course, this has happened only one other time in his career when Fleury lost his job in Pittsburgh to Matt Murray, which prompted a move to Vegas in the first place. It’s also interesting to note that when asked whether he knew that his agent was going to post the picture, Fleury declined to answer, which does suggest he’s not happy with his current role on the team.

Fleury said he spoke to general manager Kelly McCrimmon and DeBoer Saturday. Fleury, known as a leader in the locker-room, said it was a good talk and it was made clear that he didn’t want to be a distraction during the Golden Knights playoff run in which they have lost just once in eight playoff games so far (including the round-robin).

“I’ve known these guys for a little while now,” said Fleury (via NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika). “I just want to put this behind and move on. All I care about is winning and what’s best for the team and I think they know that.”

Regardless of the outcome for the Golden Knights, the team could find themselves in a interesting situation. While Fleury is likely the most loved player on the Golden Knights’ team, Vegas doesn’t have enough money to pay both Fleury and Lehner, who will be an unrestricted free agent. Fleury still has two years remaining at $7MM. While his numbers have been solid recently, he hasn’t been the dominant player he once was in the team’s inaugural season. He appeared in 49 games with the team during the regular season, but had one of the worst save percentages in his career at .905.

With the team cap strapped for the next couple of years and with Fleury aging, the team likely will have little money remaining to pay for a solid backup goaltender to help take the load off Fleury during the regular season, which could be a problem with Vegas designed to win over the next couple of years. The team might be better off with a younger goalie like Lehner, who is just looking for a home, but would Vegas even entertain the idea of trading Fleury and would anyone want him at the price tag?

However, Vegas is in a good position for this postseason with two solid netminders and Fleury is more than capable of taking over the series at any point and reclaiming his spot as the team’s No. 1 goalie.

Robin Lehner Looking For Stability With Next Contract

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It’s hard to perform much better than Robin Lehner has the last five seasons. Since the start of the 2015-16 campaign, the firey goaltender has posted a .920 save percentage over 215 games played, including 13 shutouts. That performance has climbed him up the all-time ranks, as Lehner now sits 11th with a career .918. Despite that, he’s been moved around to four different organizations and has been forced to sign three consecutive one-year contracts.

It’s time to change that.

The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender is still alive in these playoffs and there are more than just fans watching him play. As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic examines, Lehner will be front and center among goaltenders—along with Jakob Markstrom—when free agency rolls around later this fall. LeBrun notes that Lehner’s “desire to find stability in his next contract” hasn’t changed, meaning a multi-year deal will be the ask.

It is easy to forget that Lehner is still only 29, given how long he’s been in the league. A second-round pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2009, he made his NHL debut less than three months after his 19th birthday, an age when goaltenders are almost never at that level. In fact, only 18 goaltenders in NHL history have recorded a win at a younger age (including Lehner’s partner in Vegas, Marc-Andre Fleury). Goalies like that usually become franchise cornerstones, not journeymen who could join a sixth organization before their 30th birthday (seventh, if you include the trade deadline salary-retention stop with the Toronto Maple Leafs).

There’s no doubt Lehner is a different animal than most goaltenders though. An outspoken advocate for mental health and addiction support after his own struggles—which included diagnoses of bipolar disorder, ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder—he took home the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy last year. Working through those struggles in recent years seems to have only improved his on-ice performance though, leading to this important offseason.

When compared to the other goaltenders—or even the other players in general—that will be available this fall, Lehner appears to be one of the very top choices. LeBrun suggests that Carolina or Edmonton could be potential landing spots, though each would likely have to clear some cap space to pull it off. That’s the trouble for any unrestricted free agent this year as the league deals with a flat salary cap ceiling and slashed revenue streams, but perhaps even more so for goaltenders. An expensive deal like Sergei Bobrovsky landed last year ($10MM per season) is unlikely for anyone. But for Lehner, length is obviously important.

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