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Several goaltenders sign deals ahead of free agency including Robin Lehner and Tristian Jarry

By Ian Oland

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October 3, 2020 2:03 pm

Four goaltenders have inked new deals with their current NHL teams over the last 24 hours.

With only six days left before the official start of free agency, several netminders have made their decisions now with the NHL’s goalie market unusually deep this offseason. The NHL Draft, which usually inspires several trades every year, begins on Tuesday, October 6, while free agency opens on October 9.

Robin Lehner

On Saturday morning, the Vegas Golden Knights announced that they re-signed UFA Robin Lehner to a five-year, $25 million contract. Lehner helped lead Vegas to the Western Conference Final after the team benched the team’s longtime starter, Marc-Andre Fleury, early in the playoffs.

Lehner tweeted the following thanking VGK:

Can’t put in to words how happy me and my family are to finally find a home. 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. Life is at times not easy and you make mistakes and you can learn from them. I’ve been extremely lucky to have some special people help me get to this point. This is also a big win for everyone with mental health issues out there. I’m an open person with bipolar 1, ptsd, anxiety And that’s ok. I take medicine and that’s ok. I work with psychiatrist and that’s ok. You work trough your issues as hard as you can and it’s possible to get rewarded whoever you are and no matter what you are dealing with. Stigma is real in the world but this gives me hope for the future. Thanks @GoldenKnights for believing in me.

The Vegas Golden Knights now have $12 million (AAV) devoted to their goaltending duo for the next two seasons. It’s unclear if the Golden Knights will try to keep Fleury or try to trade him, but general manager Kelly McCrimmon intimated the team’s goalie situation could be resolved between the draft and the beginning of free agency per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Tristian Jarry

Penguins goaltender Tristian Jarry, who was set to be a restricted free agent next week, signed a three-year extension with Pittsburgh worth $3.5 million per season. This deal likely means that the Penguins will now try to move their Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Matt Murray, who has struggled with injury over the last few seasons and is a RFA.

The Penguins now only have $2.6 million left in cap space.

Brian Elliott

Carter Hart’s backup with the Flyers, Brian Elliott, signed a one-year, $1.5 million extension with Philadelphia. The 35-year-old posted a 16-7-4 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and .899 save percentage during the 2019-20 season.

“Brian is a quality, veteran goaltender who is also an important part of our leadership group. His preparation and work ethic are exemplary,” Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher said in a release. “With Brian and Carter, we believe we have a strong goaltending duo who have each had success and work very well with each other.”

Laurent Brossoit

Friday, the Winnipeg Jets inked Laurent Brossoit to a one-year extension worth $1.5 million. The 27-year-old put up a 19-13-3 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and.912 save percentage over the last two seasons combined.

With Lehner signed, Capitals unrestricted free agent Braden Holtby will arguably be the best goalie available. Here’s a partial (!!!) list of available goaltenders per Cap Friendly.

With Holtby likely departing, the Capitals could be in the market for a veteran that could serve as a backup to Ilya Samsonov if the team opts not to give Vitek Vanecek the opportunity. Several networks have speculated that Henrik Lundqvist, who was bought out by the New York Rangers, could be that guy depending on his price.

Headline photo: NHL Headshots

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