Confirmed with Link: Islanders Sign Robin Lehner, G - 1 Year Deal

[Newsworthy]

I did not want to take up the Hickey thread with our discussion about Lehner. But let's have it here.

He was absolutely the best goaltender in the UFA market and was a great match for the Islanders. But now when you reply to this post try to revert away from a snarky reply and give me something substantial to prove me wrong. Actually try and show me why Carter Hutton should have been signed until he is 35 years old for this Islander team.

You don't have many legs to stand on here. Hutton should not have gotten a three year deal by a transitioning Islanders team.

Cam Ward has a stunning .890 save percentage for the Blackhawks and has not had a save percentage above .910 since 2011-2012.

And then we have what will most likely be your answer which is the brilliant idea of resigning Halak. Yes, let's go resign a goalie who has had issues with management eventually wherever he goes. He has an amazing save percentage so far but it will obviously go down. Halak is a good goalie who had his chance to be the starter here and like Greiss he eventually falters. So as of now Lehner was the second best UFA on the market and the best option for the Islanders since Halak was never going to get signed and not many teams even wanted him considering he had to take a backup position on the Bruins.

Halak is a good goalie like I said. Nobody in their right mind signs Halak over Lehner to be their starting goalie though. For this young Islander team I will take the upside of Robin Lehner along with him not having off ice issues anymore, compared to Halak who has already had MULTIPLE problems here.

Halak had to go, unless you wanted to try a Halak/Greiss tandem for two years in a row after what we witnessed last year. Is that what you wanted to see?

The goalie market wasn't very friendly. I agree. Robin maybe younger and cheaper than Halak or Hutton but not better. No one was thinking of signing Lehner as anything more than a platoon type. Same with Halak.
No way was Lehner the best free agent goalie on the market. He lasted to the end and signed a one year cheap deal for a reason.
The Sabres aren't missing Lehner and Hutton is doing very well. No expert or GM had Lehner rated the best goalie on the market.
He is a low risk mediocre reward type signing. I never suggested the Isles resign Halak. I did say he was the Isles best goalie last season. In fact I'm glad Jaro is doing really well in Boston. He deserves the success and is a good guy. He wasn't coming back to NY after last year.
My idea was to first look into trading for Grubauer. Trotz is familiar with him and why not have two German net-minders?
I'm not upset we didn't get him because he's unproven and Colorado gave up more than I expected.
After that I didn't really have an answer.

 

[YearlyLottery]

The goalie market wasn't very friendly. I agree. Robin maybe younger and cheaper than Halak or Hutton but not better. No one was thinking of signing Lehner as anything more than a platoon type. Same with Halak.
No way was Lehner the best free agent goalie on the market. He lasted to the end and signed a one year cheap deal for a reason.
The Sabres aren't missing Lehner and Hutton is doing very well. No expert or GM had Lehner rated the best goalie on the market.
He is a low risk mediocre reward type signing. I never suggested the Isles resign Halak. I did say he was the Isles best goalie last season. In fact I'm glad Jaro is doing really well in Boston. He deserves the success and is a good guy. He wasn't coming back to NY after last year.
My idea was to first look into trading for Grubauer. Trotz is familiar with him and why not have two German net-minders?
I'm not upset we didn't get him because he's unproven and Colorado gave up more than I expected.
After that I didn't really have an answer.

So now that we are another month into this saga Lehner had been lights out for the entire month of December. Lowest GAA in the month of December as well for goalies who have played at least five games.

Lehner: .926
Hutton: .916
Halak: .928
Grubauer: .904

So maybe Lehner truly was the best option on the market after all? I know we are only into New Years, but certainly interested to see if your opinion has changed on who the best option was at this point in time.

 

[ZEBROA]

.930

I dont know, playing with help and medication seem to be easier then without help and meds. Who would have thought...

Some fans should give the guy a second chance. I dont expect him to be at this level all season , but i expect him to be better then before he got help.

 

[YearlyLottery]

I'm just happy the Isles got the best option on the market this offseason.

 

[RMimagery]

I think he'll be the 1A down the stretch. very quick and sees the chances coming. I'm impressed and glad he got the help he needed and is appreciated at his new digs.

 

[Macch]

Isles really lucked out here.

Have to think with all that Lehner has been through, he’ll want to extend his contract with us.

Hopefully that kills all the Bobrovsky talk.

 

[Uncle Duke]

Isles really lucked out here.

Have to think with all that Lehner has been through, he’ll want to extend his contract with us.

Hopefully that kills all the Bobrovsky talk.

Why call it luck? Let's give credit where it's due. It was a smart hockey decision given what was available at the time.

I'm sure though that Lou and BT are going to want a full season to evaluate Lehner both physically and emotionally, and even to see him face some adversity while clean and sober without resorting to old, bad habits before committing to any goalie long term.

But right now, the trajectory is really good.

 

[PWJunior]

Why call it luck? Let's give credit where it's due. It was a smart hockey decision given what was available at the time.

I'm sure though that Lou and BT are going to want a full season to evaluate Lehner both physically and emotionally, and even to see him face some adversity while clean and sober without resorting to old, bad habits before committing to any goalie long term.

But right now, the trajectory is really good.

I think Lehner and his camp would be wise to explore the market on July 1st. He is still young and he could be positioned to cash in big. Both parties took a leap of faith with the signing and it's working out great so far.

I do think he would prefer to sign with the Isles and would be willing to do it on a discount, I believe that even off the heals of the Judas saga. What he's gone through and how everyone has embraced him with open arms, there is a lot of love and respect there. If anyone is going to appreciate that, it's him.

Lehner bridging the gap to Sorokin could work out nicely.

 

[Lame Lambert]

Lehner is a tank. The guy is the size of a house and he plays like it.

 

[Macch]

Why call it luck? Let's give credit where it's due. It was a smart hockey decision given what was available at the time.

I'm sure though that Lou and BT are going to want a full season to evaluate Lehner both physically and emotionally, and even to see him face some adversity while clean and sober without resorting to old, bad habits before committing to any goalie long term.

But right now, the trajectory is really good.

Didn't mean it in a negative way. It was a great hockey decision. Low risk/high reward, but i don't think anyone would've thought he'd be playing this well.

I say lucky because when you look at the series of events that took place to bring him here, a lot had to and did go right.

- Lehner takes a look in the mirror and fights his demons. I don't think we can overlook how huge of a step this is for him. Many have tried and failed, but it seems like he's in a great place.

- Mitch Korn follows Trotz to the Isles. We were all hoping this would happen when Trotz signed, but it wasn't a sure thing.

- Trotz gets everyone on the Isles to buy in to his system and it pays off a lot sooner than anyone could've expected. The transition from a historically bad defensive team to one of the best in the NHL is incredible.

We're only half-way through the season, so a lot can change.

Lehner seems really happy here. He called this group "special." It would lead me to believe he'd like to sign a long term deal here.

The Isles find the #1 goalie they've been searching for way too long. Don't have to spend a ton of $$$ on someone like Bobrovsky.

Good management yes, but a lot had to go right even to get us to this point.

 

[Lame Lambert]

Didn't mean it in a negative way. It was a great hockey decision. Low risk/high reward, but i don't think anyone would've thought he'd be playing this well.

I say lucky because when you look at the series of events that took place to bring him here, a lot had to and did go right.

- Lehner takes a look in the mirror and fights his demons. I don't think we can overlook how huge of a step this is for him. Many have tried and failed, but it seems like he's in a great place.

- Mitch Korn follows Trotz to the Isles. We were all hoping this would happen when Trotz signed, but it wasn't a sure thing.

- Trotz gets everyone on the Isles to buy in to his system and it pays off a lot sooner than anyone could've expected. The transition from a historically bad defensive team to one of the best in the NHL is incredible.

We're only half-way through the season, so a lot can change.

Lehner seems really happy here. He called this group "special." It would lead me to believe he'd like to sign a long term deal here.

The Isles find the #1 goalie they've been searching for way too long. Don't have to spend a ton of $$$ on someone like Bobrovsky.

Good management yes, but a lot had to go right even to get us to this point.

Lehner’s numbers were always good, he was just inconsistent and was known to be a head case. Then we learned that his problems were addiction and mental illness, which were most likely causing his inconsistencies. As long as that remains in check I think he’ll be successful.

 

[Uncle Duke]

I think Lehner and his camp would be wise to explore the market on July 1st. He is still young and he could be positioned to cash in big. Both parties took a leap of faith with the signing and it's working out great so far.

I do think he would prefer to sign with the Isles and would be willing to do it on a discount, I believe that even off the heals of the Judas saga. What he's gone through and how everyone has embraced him with open arms, there is a lot of love and respect there. If anyone is going to appreciate that, it's him.

Lehner bridging the gap to Sorokin could work out nicely.

Everything you've written has some truth to it but we should not kid ourselves about the nature of the pro sports business, and the Isles and RL are not exempt from it, regardless of the redemptive nature of the RL story. It is a mercenary business and loyalty is a two way street driven by money and production. If the player produces, mgmt will offer money and if it's enough, the player will stay. All of the Kumbaya stuff is nice, but in the end, not much of a factor, though I will concede that RL might be willing to take SLIGHTLY less to stay. That assumes, of course, that both he and the team stay hot, which is by no means assured (but deeply hoped for!).

 

[YearlyLottery]

This dude is awesome.

 

[BMOK33]

I think Lehner and his camp would be wise to explore the market on July 1st. He is still young and he could be positioned to cash in big. Both parties took a leap of faith with the signing and it's working out great so far.

I do think he would prefer to sign with the Isles and would be willing to do it on a discount, I believe that even off the heals of the Judas saga. What he's gone through and how everyone has embraced him with open arms, there is a lot of love and respect there. If anyone is going to appreciate that, it's him.

Lehner bridging the gap to Sorokin could work out nicely.

I don’t think any elite teams are going to give him an offer though. Given it’s just a one year thing on a team that had no pressure whatsoever coming into the season he may be viewed with some skepticism. I would even be afraid to give him a 4-6 year deal after just this one year