Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner has a handshake contract to a five-year agreement extension with a $5 million average annual value, as per a NHL source.
Lehner, in any case, rejects that he and the team have a comprehension on another agreement in front of his unlimited free office this offseason.
No agreement has been signed or registered with the NHL.
“It’s not true,” Lehner said on Friday, ahead of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday between the Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars. “I’ve been on a lot of teams lately, obviously. You have some talks. Where you’re at. What you want to do. Nothing has been finalized. We’re here.”
Lehner, 29, was obtained by the Golden Knights at the trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks. Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was in the first season of a three-year, $21 million agreement extension that he signed in July 2018 however was conflicting in the regular season. Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon said on various events that the team obtained Lehner on the grounds that it didn’t feel it “had enough support behind Marc-Andre.” But Lehner has been the starter in the restarted season for the Golden Knights, playing in 14 of their 18 postseason games. He’s 9-5 with a .921 save percentage, a 1.92 goals-against average and four shutouts.
That usage prompted speculation that Lehner would be held past this season, which has been powered by published reports from The Athletic and The Fourth Period that demonstrated the relationship would proceed.
“It’s kind of annoying that we are here in the conference final and people are saying things they don’t know. It’s just adding on to this thing that’s going on here. If it would have been finalized, it would have been finalized. But it’s not. I’m here to win a Cup, not discuss this stuff,” Lehner said on Friday, when asked about those reports.
The Knights are Lehner’s fourth team in the previous three seasons. He additionally played for the Buffalo Sabers, New York Islanders and Blackhawks in that span.
“It’s a very competitive team. I felt right away when I got there that this was a non-politics team. I’ve been on a lot of teams where there were inside politics involved. I felt it right away when I came here. This team is all about winning. You deserve what you get. That’s what winning teams do,” Lehner said. “We have two strong goaltenders. A really strong team.”