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Vegas Golden Knights: Four players who may have played their last game

By Andrew Steele-Davis

CALGARY, AB - MARCH 8: Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights in action against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on March 8, 2020 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB - MARCH 8: Ryan Reaves #75 of the Vegas Golden Knights in action against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on March 8, 2020 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images) /
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Robin Lehner of the Vegas Golden Knights leaves the ice after being named the first star of the game following the team’s 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils at T-Mobile Arena.
Robin Lehner of the Vegas Golden Knights leaves the ice after being named the first star of the game following the team’s 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils at T-Mobile Arena. /

1. Robin Lehner, G, UFA

There was always the very real danger that the Vegas Golden Knights would only be getting one of the best goalies in the NHL right now for a short period of time when they pulled the trigger on a stunning trade for Robin Lehner at the Trade Deadline.

Not an organization to usually dabble with pure rentals, General Manager Kelly McCrimmon saw an opportunity to significantly bolster his goaltending depth and went for it by sending Malcolm Subban, prospect defenseman Slava Demin and a 2020 second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks for Lehner.

By acquiring a player of Lehner’s caliber and undoubted talent, the Golden Knights gave themselves one of the best 1-2 punches at the goalie position in the entire National Hockey League.

And, not only would it have allowed the coaching staff the freedom to rest Marc-Andre Fleury more down the stretch, but it would also ensure that Vegas had two elite goalies at their disposal in the postseason.

You can’t win championships without elite goaltending, after all.

Lehner showed flashes of why he has been one of the most productive goalies in the NHL over the last few years in just a small sample size for the Golden Knights too, going 3-0-0 with a 1.67 Goals Against Average and a .940 Save Percentage in three starts.

The 28-year-old would have backed-up Fleury throughout the playoffs but, if the Golden Knights were to win the Stanley Cup, then the gamble to bring in Lehner as a rental would have more than paid off.

However, there is a very real danger that the Knights could lose Lehner after just three games now if hockey doesn’t return.

Because, currently carrying a cap hit of $5 million, Lehner is a UFA in the off-season and he’s likely going to want a big payday wherever he goes.

Given that the Golden Knights will have $11 million in cap space in which to deal with eight pending free agents while bringing in fresh faces, it is unlikely that they will want to invest north of $6 million plus in a goalie when they already have Fleury’s $7,000,000 cap hit on the books through 2021-22.

Therefore, we could well be looking at a scenario where the Golden Knights parted with a role player, a prospect and a second-round pick for a goalie who played just three games for the franchise.

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