One of the main talking points of the 2019-20 Trade Deadline was the Vegas Golden Knights acquiring elite goaltending help in Robin Lehner. In addition to his larger-than-life Twitter persona, Lehner brings big potential and solid netmiding to a team that already housed future Hall of Famer, Marc-Andre Fleury.
Now with two top-end netminders, the Golden Knights have firmly set their sights on "winning now". Both men have long careers backed up by stellar stats and should give the Golden Knights a real shot at a long cup run. A goalie tandem with a $12 million cap hit could do some serious damage in the post-season.
Not many teams can relate to the new-look Golden Knights. Most clubs have a clear-cut starter and the ceremonial backup goalie. Others simply don't have two men with such gaudy statistics pushing one another for starts. Below you'll find the short list of teams that could be just as strong in goal, along with their current standing. Let's see how Vegas' new tandem stacks up.
Vegas Golden Knights: 1st Pacific
Marc-Andre Fleury: 26-15-5, 2.76 GAA, .906 SV%, -4.42 GSAA
Robin Lehner: 18-10-5, 2.89 GAA, .921 SV%, 14.06 GSAA
Since his arrival, Lehner has seen an even split in playing time with the incumbent starter Fleury. This is nothing like the situation was with Malcolm Subban, a much greener and inexperienced goaltender. Head Coach Pete DeBoer feels very comfortable with his new backup. He never got that comfort in San Jose with Martin Jones and Aaron Dell.
"I think the new NHL is trending towards more rest, fresher guys and using two goalies. It is a great luxury for a coach to have. I haven’t been in a position really like this before."
-Pete DeBoer
Arizona Coyotes: 5th Pacific
Darcy Kuemper: 26-15-9, 2.17 GAA, .929 SV%, 15.41 GSAA
Antti Raanta: 15-14-3, 2.63 GAA, .921 SV%, 12.01 GSAA
Boston Bruins: 1st Atlantic
Tuukka Rask: 25-7-6, 2.13 GAA, .928 SV%, 21.44 GSAA
Jaroslav Halak: 17-6-6, 2.44 GAA, .917 SV%, 7.12 GSAA
Columbus Blue Jackets: 5th Metro
Joonas Korpisalo: 19-11-4, 2.58 GAA, .911 SV%, 2.01 GSAA
Elvis Merzlikins: 12-9-8, 2.39 GAA, .922 SV%, 10.94 GSAA
Colorado Avalanche: 2nd Central
Philipp Grubauer: 18-12-4, 2.63 GAA, .916 SV%, 6.81 GSAA
Pavel Francouz: 19-5-3, 2.24 GAA, .929 SV%, 17.12 GSAA
Dallas Stars: 3rd Central
Ben Bishop: 21-14-4, 2.49 GAA, .921 SV%, 14.15 GSAA
Anton Khudobin: 16-7-4, 2.22 GAA, .929 SV%, 17.12 GSAA
New York Islanders: 4th Metro
Semyon Varlamov: 19-13-5, 2.56 GAA, .916 SV%, 8.24 GSAA
Thomas Greiss: 16-9-3, 2.74 GAA, .914 SV%, 3.50 GSAA
St. Louis Blues: 1st Central
Jordan Binnington: 30-11-7, 2.56 GAA, .911 SV%, 2.85 GSAA
Jake Allen: 10-6-3, 2.31 GAA, .922 SV%, 7.35 GSAA
Upon review of the to-date numbers, one of the most decorated goalies has the worst Goals Saved Above Average figures. Fleury's number is so bad, it's actually in the negative, meaning he's allowed more goals than a league average goaltender. It's entirely possible that the drop in Fleury's production necessitated the move for Lehner. What seemed to be a move for abundance may have been more of a necessity than it originally appeared to be.
Lehner is a goaltender that's no stranger to splitting time and did so graciously in Chicago this season. There he played alongside Corey Crawford, who is enjoying a bounce-back season. Previously, he shared nets in throughout New York, both on Long Island (Islanders) and upstate with the Buffalo Sabres.
Being a goalie with experience in tandems seems to be a specialized skill that can really help out the right team, in the right situation. His presence in Chicago seems to be what got Crawford going.
2018-19 (without Lehner): 2.93 GAA, .908 SV%
2019-20: 2.82 GAA, .916 SV%
Crawford showed a huge spike in his save percentage and thus far Fleury has stepped his game up in Vegas. Early returns have shown improvement from Fleury, who pitched a shutout in his first start with Lehner watching from the VGK bench. As the old adage goes, iron sharpens iron. Having the calm, confident demeanor of Lehner in the room, could get the man they call Flower back on his game.
Despite injuries up and down the lineup, the Golden Knights are playing some of their best hockey of the 2019-20 season. Bringing in Alec Martinez, Nick Cousins, and Lehner were moves to propel the team to the top of the Pacific Division (check) and toward a long playoff run. If both netmiders can continue to operate at a high level, spelling each other for necessary rest, the Golden Knights will have a long, bright spring.
Both Lehner and Fleury have recorded shutouts, both 3-0 results, in their short time together. Coach DeBoer now finds himself on the fun side of a career rollercoaster. He goes from being fired from a questionable goaltending situation to being hired into a shockingly good one and the sentiment is not lost on him or GM Kelly McCrimmon.
"It's really rare that goaltenders of his (Lehner's) status are traded in-season."
"We spoke with Marc-Andre (Fleury) prior to this (trade), to get his thoughts....We want to win."
- Kelly McCrimmon on deadline day
Their new and improved tandem gives the Golden Knights a good a chance as any at capturing the Stanley Cup this spring. Anything is possible with Fleury back on his game, Lehner providing elite-level goaltending in relief, and a transition-oriented defense less afraid to make mistakes. There isn't a tandem in the league these two couldn't go head-to-head with.
Once the playoffs roll around, it will be interesting to see if the 50/50 split holds. Usually one goalie gets going for a long run, but if these early results hold up, the Golden Knights could flip the script. They may not only go on a run, but they could further revolutionize the game, justifying the strategy employed by the Boston Bruins. It's not merely a coincidence that each of the above tandems are in playoff contention.
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