*Photo from NHL.com*
One big part of the Vegas Golden Knights machine is gone for the foreseeable future. Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner will undergo hip surgery and miss the 2022-2023 season, according to an announcement by the team.
Entering last season, Lehner was the clear cut starting goalie for the Golden Knights after Marc-Andre Fleury was traded away. He dealt with various injuries during the course of the season, and underwent shoulder surgery in April, shutting him down for the season.
This season, Lehner is on the 3rd year of a 5 year, $25 million extension he signed with the Golden Knights. He is making $5 million annually and has a modified no trade clause, and Vegas can get closer to becoming cap compliant by putting Lehner on LTIR when the season begins. Logan Thompson is likely to become the starter in his absence.
Vegas director of player development Wil Nichol said of Thompson that "I mean, obviously that's for training camp and all that stuff plays out, but I think, in my opinion, he has already shown us and the organization, his teammates, everything, that he's more than capable to be to be a full-time NHL goaltender for sure."
When healthy last season, Lehner was a solid starter for Vegas. He ended the season with a 23-17-2 record with a 2.83 GAA and .907 save percentage, recording 20 quality starts and one shutout in 44 starts for the Golden Knights last season.
Behind Thompson, the goalie depth chart gets murky for Vegas. Laurent Brossoit is set to miss time after his own hip surgery in the offseason, leaving Michael Hutchinson as the next man up. Jean-Francois Berube, who played in 6 games last season, is the most proven free agent available
Comments
Post a Comment