Robin Lehner focused on postseason, not free agency

Patrick Brown skated in one-on-one against Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner and flicked a shot past his new, white catching glove.

As the puck sailed into the top corner of the net, several players let out a Ric Flair-style “Wooooo!” that echoed through City National Arena.

After Lehner turned away every puck he saw through the first 20 minutes of practice Wednesday — not to mention almost everything thrown at him the first two days of training camp — Brown’s shot was worthy of a little celebration.

“He came in and he really worked hard over the pause, and I’ve been very happy with his conditioning and his shape, and I think it’s translating,” coach Pete DeBoer said of Lehner. “I think he looks great in practices.”

Lehner underwent a head-spinning past five months, first being dealt from Chicago to the Knights at the trade deadline in late February before the NHL season was suspended March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The native of Sweden remained in Las Vegas for most of the pause — Lehner returned to Chicago for a week to gather the last of his things — and participated in the Phase Two voluntary workouts at City National Arena to prepare for the postseason.

“I think my type of game gets affected a little bit less than some other goalies because I play a bit differently,” Lehner said. “I don’t move as much, a little bit more patient. I think that just helps transition on breaks like this. It’s not been too bad for me.”

Lehner was supposed to compete in camp with Marc-Andre Fleury, but Fleury missed his third straight day of training camp Wednesday. DeBoer said he expects Fleury to practice before the weekend.

Once Fleury is healthy, he and Lehner give the Knights a formidable duo in net entering the playoffs.

Lehner went 3-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .940 save percentage in his three appearances with the Knights.

DeBoer said Tuesday he expects to use both goalies during the exhibition and round-robin games before deciding who will start Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

“Goaltending wins you Stanley Cups, and we’ve got two great guys who play the position very well,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “It’s awesome to see (Lehner) playing well. He’s a big man, he moves well and he gets in the way of a lot of pucks. He’s been doing great, and I think we’re excited to get (Fleury) back in the mix here, too, at some point.”

Lehner, who turns 29 on July 24, will be an unrestricted free agent after the season and could command more than the $5 million salary he made this season.

With the salary cap frozen at $81.5 million for at least next season, it could be tough for the Knights to re-sign Lehner. They currently are projected to have approximately $6.375 million to fill out their roster with 17 players already under contract.

“Right now, we’re just focused on being here, helping the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup,” Lehner said. “I’m sure we’ll have some discussions after the season and see what happens. I really like it here. Great team and organization, great group of players. We’ll see what happens. You never know, but it’s a very good impression here so far.”

Early in the pause, Lehner expressed his doubts about whether the NHL season could safely resume during an interview with a Swedish publication. But he also commended the NHL on Wednesday for its handling of the return to play.

Lehner, who is an advocate for mental health awareness and the 2019 Masterton Trophy winner, believes sports’ return is important during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s a debate that’s missing here. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I think there’s over 10 million people in the world that dies from mental health issues, and I think that’s been swept away,” Lehner said. “You’ve got to have something to look forward to, and I think sports plays a huge role in that.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.