The Vegas Golden Knights reached a resolution with goaltender Robin Lehner on Thursday after Lehner did not report to Training Camp for his mandatory physical. Lehner has not played a game since the end of the 2021-22 season, undergoing hip surgery that offseason and rehabbing away from the club.
Vegas will pay Lehner the $4.4 million salary he is owed for this year without any of it counting against the NHL’s salary cap despite the current CBA requiring players to report for their physical before being placed on long-term injured reserve. The salary will still count against the players’ share of the 50/50 revenue split with team owners.
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports that all parties involved were aware of a specific reason Lehner could not be in Vegas. Kaplan’s sources say that the NHL deemed Lehner’s case “unprecedented and highly unique,” so they will not force the Golden Knights to account for his salary when fleshing out their 2024-25 roster.
Vegas could have sought to terminate Lehner’s deal entirely but did not opt for that path. They instead argued exclusively in favor of the increased salary cap flexibility.
Lehner has long been open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse. After consulting with his psychiatrist and family, the Swedish netminder opted out of the last Winter Olympics due to concerns about how a COVID-19-forced quarantine could negatively impact his mental health.
Before the 2018-19 season, Lehner revealed his struggles with alcoholism, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and PTSD. He was awarded the 2019 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy after leading the New York Islanders to the playoffs with a 25-13-5 record, a 2.13 goals-against average, a .930 save percentage, and six shutouts.
Lehner has played 364 career games with the Golden Knights, Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, and Chicago Blackhawks.
