Golden Knights Could Face a Choice Between Fleury or Lehner
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Two weeks after the Golden Knights were eliminated from the post-season, team owner Bill Foley will soon meet with his front office staff to plot their off-season strategy. What to do with goaltending tandem Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner could be on the agenda.
Two weeks after the Vegas Golden Knights were eliminated from the post-season, team owner Bill Foley will soon meet with his front office staff to plot their off-season strategy. What to do with goaltending tandem Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner could be on the agenda.
Fleury, 36, took home the Vezina Trophy this season for the first time. He and Lehner also won the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals-against.
The Las Vegas Journal-Review’s David Schoen reported Foley said he liked carrying two top goalies. However, he indicated that would be up for discussion when management meets with the club’s pro scouts.
Foley also singled out his club’s poor play with the man advantage. They went scoreless in 15 attempts against the Montreal Canadiens in the semifinal and 4-for-49 for the post-season.
With $6.097 million in projected cap space for 2021-22 and 18 players under contract, the Golden Knights must shed some salary if they hope to add a power-play specialist this summer. They’re exempt from the expansion draft so the only way they’ll get any cap relief from the Seattle Kraken is through a trade.
The Golden Knights have the second-highest paid tandem in the league. Fleury has a year remaining on his contract with a 10-team no-trade clause and a cap hit of $7 million. Lehner carries an annual average value of $5 million for four more seasons with an eight-team no-trade clause.
Fleury’s age and remaining contract term should make him the obvious trade candidate but Foley has said he’d like to see him finish his career in Vegas. Moving Lehner, however, would leave them scrambling to find an affordable successor to Fleury.