Where’s Lehner? Golden Knights Not ‘Up to Speed’ on Robin Lehner Rehab

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner has not played a game this season. After fighting reported knees, hips, and a back injury last season, he was shut down on April 20, 2022, after 20 minutes and hasn’t played a game since.

The reports varied on the injuries, but ultimately, he required surgery on both hips and has been rehabbing at home in Sweden.

Robin Lehner, 31, has had a bad two years. In February 2022 he had should surgery. He declared bankruptcy in December after investments such as a reptile farm did not pan out. Lehner claimed just over $5 million in assets but over $27 million in liabilities. In April, he was also sued by multiple creditors for fraud.

Thursday, in a Western Conference Final media availability, Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon couldn’t answer a question about Lehner’s progress.

“Robin is still getting rehab on both of his hips,” McCrimmon said. “I’m not exactly sure in terms of a timeline how close he is to the finish line. I’m just not up to speed on that.”

It might seem odd that a GM isn’t up to speed on the rehab process of a goalie who is under contract for two more seasons. Lehner signed a five-year deal worth $25 million on Oct. 3, 2020. It runs through the 2025-26 season.

In August, the team announced Lehner had hip surgeries and would miss the remainder of the season. They did not have a timetable then for a return to NHL action, and it would seem they still do not, leading to significant, unanswered questions.

In three-plus seasons, Lehner has played only 66 games with a 39-21-4 record. After succeeding Marc-Andre Fleury as the Golden Knights’ No. 1 goalie in 201-22, he played 44 games with a subpar .907 save percentage and a 23-17-2 record.

Silver Knights Coach?

The Golden Knights organization made a mutual decision to part with Henderson Silver Knights coach Manny Viveiros in April. Viveoros was the organization’s first and only coach since the team’s 2021 inception. The Silver Knights made two playoff appearances.

McCrimmon said the coaching search has been paused

“Yeah, we’ve postponed that. We’ve had discussions internally about what we want the process to look like,” McCrimmon said. “I haven’t spoken directly to any candidates at this point. That’s something that we’ll work towards soon after our season ends. (The end of the season) is going to be the timeline for that type of stuff.”

The team was 89-79-11 in Viveoros’s three seasons and 3-4 in the playoffs.