Logan Thompson Has Made the Golden Knights Goalie Situation Interesting…

We are just six games into the NHL career of Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson. But in his limited appearances this season, he has looked great for the VGK. With head coach Peter DeBoer giving him an opportunity to shine, Thompson has won the past two games for the Golden Knights.

He stopped 33 shots against the NHL’s top offense in the Florida Panthers and then followed it up with a 37 save performance Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.

“Starts are hard to come by in this league and for Pete to give me this opportunity, I did not want to let him down or the team down so it was huge,” said Thompson.

Thompson’s quickness has really stood out in the past two games. The Golden Knights have done a good job at limiting shots to come from the outside. But on plays where Thompson needs to step up and make a save, he has looked great, especially with his glove hand.

“I think the more reps I get, the more comfortable I get and I was able to get into the game early and then I just kept building off of it,” said Thompson.

Lehner’s Injury Presents an Opportunity

The Golden Knights currently have Thompson up in the NHL as starting goaltender Robin Lehner is out with an injury. There were reports stating that Lehner would miss the remainder of the regular season but Lehner took to Twitter to deny these rumors. Still, he remains out for the Golden Knights.

I just ran into Robin Lehner and had a good chat.

He’s not allowed to (or interested in) disclosing injury info but is clearly upset with the report of a broken knee cap.

What I can say is he looks to be moving fine, and is hoping for a return at some point to help this team. https://t.co/cMnCxdMRCU

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) March 18, 2022

Lehner’s absence started March 8th as he left the Golden Knights road trip to return to Las Vegas and was placed on injured reserve. The net was given to backup Laurent Brossoit, who struggled on the road trip and has let in 10 goals in his last three starts.

Thompson has since taken over for the Golden Knights in net.

“I think he is a young guy that when he first dips his toe in the water here at the NHL level like all young guys you are wondering if you belong and as you play and have some success you have some confidence. He looks confident now, he looks more confident than he did even last game so hopefully, he keeps building on that,” said Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer.

Trade Deadline Preparation

With Lehner injured, speculation has run wild over what the Golden Knights might do at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline. Everything from nothing to the dramatic return of Marc-Andre Fleury has been speculated. But with the play of Thompson, perhaps the Kelly McCrimmon stays pat at the deadline?

Saturday’s game against the Kings marked the last game the Golden Knights will play before Monday’s deadline. The Golden Knights have been linked to Semyon Varlamov, Joonas Korpisalo, Jake Allen, and Alexander Georgiev but nothing is confirmed in terms of an actual deal.

Also worth noting is the Golden Knights recent signing of Isaiah Saville, who just finished up his collegiate career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Saville was a 2019 fifth-round pick by the Golden Knights and has now signed a three-year entry-level contract.

This signing could be one of two things. It could either be a preparation signing for the trade deadline as the Golden Knights get set to deal for a goaltender and potentially trade out one of their own, or it could simply just be the signing of a draftee who is now done with college. It’s likely the latter.

Can the Golden Knights Live Without Brossoit

This might be an overreaction here, but I believe that Thompson should never play in the American Hockey League ever again. I think that what he has shown in his limited time with the Golden Knights is that he can be a reliable backup goaltender to Lehner.

There are so many different routes the Golden Knights could take with this scenario. They could trade Brossoit and roll with Lehner/Thompson, they could trade for a goalie and make Thompson the backup and then the third goalie when Lehner comes back, or they could do nothing at all, and stick with LB/LT.

But the Golden Knights cannot wait for Lehner’s injury to determine what they do at the deadline because the deadline itself is less than 48 hours away. While Lehner is not going anywhere, if the Golden Knights want to make the playoffs they might make a shakeup in net. And the recent play of Thompson has made things much more interesting for Kelly McCrimmon

Alright let’s do a gut reaction poll here. Which is the best option for #VegasBorn

— Owen Krepps (@OKrepps85) March 19, 2022