Robin Lehner Signs Cheap Extension With Vegas, Blackhawks Left Looking Foolish

Lehner, 29, was traded by the Blackhawks at this year's trade deadline after the two sides could not reach an agreement on a contract extension. Former Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner has officially signed his five-year, $25 million extension ($5 million AAV) with the Vegas Golden Knights, per TSN's Frank Seravalli.

After going 16-10-5 with a 3.01 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in 33 games with the Blackhawks, Lehner was acquired by the Golden Knights as part of a three-team trade at the 2019-20 trade deadline. Lehner would go on to win Vegas' starting goaltender position over veteran Marc-Andre Fleury for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which sparked unnecessary tension between the team and Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh. In 16 postseason starts with Vegas, the 2019 Vezina Trophy finalist posted a 9-7 record with an impressive 1.99 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage, and four shutouts. Lehner was also 3-0-0 in three regular-season starts with Vegas before the NHL Pause on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before being shipped out of Chicago, there were conversations surrounding a possible contract extension between Lehner and the Blackhawks' front office. Those discussions came to an abrupt halt prior to the deadline because the two sides could not come to an agreement about contract length. The Blackhawks were willing to offer the 6-foot-4 netminder another bridge deal, but after betting on himself for several years, Lehner was not about to go that route again. He knew another team would not be as stingy as the Hawks. Getting traded to Vegas was the best thing that could have happened to Lehner. Not only did he have a tremendous 2020 postseason in goal, but he also is now signed with a consistent Stanley Cup contender for the next five years. Something he has never been a part of in the past. As for the Blackhawks, they are still scratching their heads wondering who will be their No. 1 goaltender for the 2020-21 season opener. Contract talks with pending unrestricted free agent Corey Crawford appear to be at a standstill, and the current free-agent market for (affordable) goaltenders is slim. That leaves the team with Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen, and Matt Tomkins as the three goaltenders in the system at the moment. None of those players are ready for a starting workload in the NHL next year. While Lehner likely would not have signed on with the Blackhawks for $5 million per year prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, it is certainly disappointing to hear that the front office was not willing to budge because of a few million dollars. The opportunity to land a top-five (arguably top-three) goaltender in the NHL does not come around often, and for the Blackhawks front office to be so passive with contract talks only further adds to the mistakes they have made trying to re-shape this team. Robin Lehner only costs $5 million per year, the 12th-highest cap hit among goaltenders. The Blackhawks likely would need to spend over $4 million just to bring back a soon-to-be 36-year-old Crawford. Not ideal. For more Blackhawks news and updates, follow the author (@TalkinHawkey) on Twitter. Be sure to check out the author's daily podcast, Locked On Blackhawks, which can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Twitter (@LO_Blackhawks).