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Robin Lehner: steps taken to terminate his Vegas contract

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Sep 19, 2024 11:58 AM ET

A few years ago, the Vegas Golden Knights acquired Robin Lehner. In theory, he was simply supposed to back up Marc-André Fleury, but the club liked him so much that they opted to offer him a five-year, $25 million contract.

The result? Marc-André Fleury was traded to the Blackhawks in 2021 (did I say traded… or practically given away right after winning the Vézina?) and Lehner became the man to trust.

And that was a mistake.

For the past two years, Robin Lehner has been too injured to play. It was without him that Vegas won the Stanley Cup in 2023, and it was also without him that the club played in 2023-2024.

Clearly, no one expected him to return to action this season, in the final year of his contract. But the situation is becoming problematic as the goalkeeper failed to show up for his physical tests yesterday.

Did he?

The result? This opens the door for the Golden Knights to take action against him. And according to Frank Seravalli, terminating his contract is an option on the table.

Sources: Vegas @GoldenKnights reviewing options, up to and including contract termination, after Robin Lehner failed to report for a mandatory medical exam to open training camp.

There’s a lot on the line for VGK, for Lehner and for the #NHLPA. Story:https://t.co/6r3CqAOfA0

– Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 19, 2024

What you need to know is that a resident of Robidas Island (i.e., a long-term injury victim) must leave his island to come and fail his physical tests and demonstrate that he’s not fit to play.

And when a guy’s really hurt, it’s not hard to prove.

For Lehner not to have done it, something must have happened. And given the fact that Lehner has had a complicated life, you have to wonder if all is well with him.

Was he in a position to fail his physical tests in Vegas? The question arises.

This doesn’t mean that Vegas will be able to terminate his deal (the NHLPA will be sticking its nose in, clearly), but if so, Lehner won’t get the $4.5M he’s due to earn in 2024-2025.

If Vegas ever manages to terminate his contract, the club will have even more salary cap room to dance around at the next deadline.

Overtime

– Training camp: guys on ice at 10am.

The first on-ice sessions of #Habs training camp get underway at 10am ET this morning in Brossard with a scrimmage to follow at 11:15am ET.

– Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) September 19, 2024

– Can he rise again?

Tomáš Hertl couldn’t find his game for the #goldenknights in the playoffs. He could use Jack Eichel as an example how one offseason can refresh the mind and body.

Eichel: “I would expect him to come in and be the Tomáš Hertl that we’ve seen”

My story️https://t.co/KjUOAhOufk

– Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) September 19, 2024

This article first appeared on Dose.ca and was syndicated with permission.

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