The Vegas Golden Knights announced that goaltender Robin Lehner is dealing an upper-body injury. Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff said that the injury may be a torn labrum. News of the injury broke on Tuesday.
Ice Breakers 🧊🏒 With Robin Lehner injured, team sources say Vegas @GoldenKnights expressed interest in a Marc-Andre Fleury reunion.
More at @DailyFaceoff ⬇️https://t.co/hHrVm4eIwl
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 15, 2022
Robin Lehner Injured for Vegas
Lehner hasn’t practiced in the last couple of days and Laurent Brossoit will start Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche. It’s not known how the Swedish goalie was hurt, but head coach Peter DeBoer said it’s unrelated to his 0ff-season surgery.
The 30-year-old has a 19-13-1 record and a 2.86 goals-against-average with a .907 save percentage. Lehner got one shutout this season on Jan. 24 against the Washington Capitals.
He has played for the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas. The Gothenburg, Sweden native has a 148-137-48 record with a 2.71 goals-against-average with a .917 save percentage. Ottawa drafted Lehner in the second round, 46th overall of the 2009 NHL Draft.
He won the Jennings Trophy twice and the Bill Masteron Trophy in 2019. Lehner also won the Calder Cup as a member of the AHL Binghamton Senators in 2011.
What it Means
Logan Thompson was called up from the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL to back up Brossoit. That’s the immediate solving of the goalie issue. However, it’s opened up speculation about the return of Marc-Andre Fleury. The pair won the Jennings in 2021, but Fleury was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon quickly shut down any speculation of Fleury returning to Vegas. Fleury got unceremoniously dumped to the Blackhawks last off-season.
Wednesday’s game will be Jack Eichel‘s debut with the team. However, Lehner being gone will cause a major headache. There’s uncertainty if Lehner’s shoulder will hold up for the rest of the season. Brossoit has played well, but it’s uncertain if he can shoulder the load for a long period of time.
