The Details: Golden Knights and Lehner Begin Extension Talks

Robin Lehner was outstanding again for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 3-0 win on Tuesday night. He shut the door on the Dallas Stars in Game 2 to even the series at 1-1 in the Western Conference Final and the shut out marks his fourth no-goal game in this year’s postseason.

With talk that the Golden Knights were already interested in retaining a netminder who has been lights-out good since being acquired, his 24-save performance leaves no doubt Lehner is likely the future between the pipes for the Golden Knights. As such, it’s not surprising to hear the team and the player have begun discussions on a new long-term deal.

Lehner Staying Long-Term?

According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, talks have gotten under way and though it’s not clear exactly what price tag would be, the deal is said to be at least five years in length. Granger writes, “I would expect that deal to be in the ballpark of five years at $5 million per season.”

He also adds that it wouldn’t surprise him if the average annual value is more than $5 million, as $5 million would only make Lehner the 13th-highest-paid goalie in the league and many believe his play has proven he’s better than that.

Considering Lehner has seemingly, found the right situation, he may be willing to cut a deal like that. That said, this is a netminder who has publicly declared he’s waited his turn. He wants to make his money after repeated team-friendly short-term deals and he knows his value. He’s got a lot of the leverage here and it’s likely he’ll use it.

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What About Marc-Andre Fleury?

With speculation the Golden Knights and Lehner will get something worked out, it leads to questions about fellow goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Granger assumes the team will immediately get to work on trying to move him, but that could be easier said than done.

He writes that nothing is finalized on that front and with two remaining years on Marc-Andre Fleury’s contract at $7 million per year – the Golden Knights might be limited in their options.

Fleury has a modified no-trade clause, he’s got the negative stigma that comes with a souring relationship in Vegas hanging around his neck and the flat salary cap has really pinched a lot teams who might have otherwise given him a look. This situation could mean having to buy out the remainder of his deal.

If so, a buy out would look like what’s below:

• 2020-21: $2,583,333
• 2021-22: $3,083,333
• 2022-23: $2,083,333
• 2023-24: $2,083,333

A buy out would save Vegas around $4.4 million this year and that would be enough to afford Lehner’s new deal. Long-term, however, the $2 million stuck on the books in 2022-23 and 2023-24 would hurt badly.

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