Heading into the 2018 offseason, the New York Islanders parted ways with head coach Doug Weight and general manager Garth Snow. They then brought in former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello, as well as Stanley Cup-winning head coach Barry Trotz. The two were set to headline a new era of Islanders hockey, beginning with contract negotiations for pending free agent and franchise icon, John Tavares. While the Islanders captain eventually left for the Leafs, the 2018 offseason prompted an era that redefined what it meant to be an Islander.
Islanders Sign Robin Lehner
Just after Tavares made the decision to sign with the Leafs, the Islanders’ attention went to fixing the remaining holes on the roster. No hole was as glaring as the goaltending tandem, so Lamoriello signed goaltender, Robin Lehner, to a one-year, $1.25 million deal.
Lehner, previously of the Buffalo Sabres, finished the prior season with a 14-26-9 record, 3.01 goals against average (GAA), .908 save percentage (SV%), and -14.1 goals saved above expected (GSAx), according to MoneyPuck.
While Lehner’s numbers seem bad, the Islanders’ goaltending the season prior was even worse. The tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss gave up the most goals in the NHL during the 2017-18 season (293), combining for -32 GSAx. Lehner was not expected to be the solution in net, but there was hope he could make the tandem a bit better.
Lehner’s Regular Season Success
As the Islanders began the post-Tavares era, Lehner made his Islanders debut on Oct. 8, 2018, against the San Jose Sharks. He faced 35 shots and saved them all, posting a shutout in his first game with the Islanders. From there, he continued to shine, giving up two or fewer goals in four of his first seven starts en route to a 4-2-1 record, .923 SV%, and 2.35 GAA in his first month on Long Island.
Following a rough four-game stretch to start November, Lehner kicked into another gear. From Nov. 22 and on, he finished the season with .936 SV%, 1.88 GAA, and 20.38 GSAx. Only Ben Bishop finished with a higher SV%, GAA, and GSAx in that span.
Some of Lehner’s season highlights include a seven-game stretch in December when he posted two shutouts, including one against Tavares in Toronto, as well as a 40-saves-on-41 shots victory in his return to Buffalo. From Nov. 29th to Dec. 31st, he posted a 1.01 GAA, .963 SV%, and 9.7 GSAx, the best of any goaltender in that span.
Related: What if John Tavares Re-Signed With the Islanders
Lehner finished the 2018-19 regular season with a 25-13-5 record, 2.13 GAA, .930 SV%, and 15.8 GSAx. He finished third in Vezina Trophy voting with three second-place votes and eight third-place votes. Together, Lehner and Greiss transformed the Islanders’ goaltending from the worst in the NHL to the best, allowing only 191 goals and earning the William M. Jennings Trophy. Many credit this success to the hiring of goaltending coach, Mitch Korn, who came with Trotz to the Islanders from Washington.
Individually, Lehner won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. It is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game. Nobody was more deserving than Lehner, who has battled addiction and mental health issues throughout his career.
When asked about the award, Lehner told NHL.com “It represents so much… It represents so much personally to both me and my wife, my family. I’ve had such an incredible outpour of support and so many people that have contacted me, tried to contact me that I still haven’t been able to get to yet, that are just scared to take that first step, scared of doing the things necessary to turn their lives around. That’s incredibly rewarding. I had a dinner with all the doctors from the program the other day and they obviously don’t tell me names or anything, but they said a lot of people have reached out to them and started getting help because of me being outspoken. If that was just one person it would be worth it.”
At the end of the 2018-19 regular season on Mar. 19th, Lehner stopped 31 of 32 shots faced against his former team to clinch a playoff spot for the New York Islanders at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. He played just two more games in the regular season, stopping 65 of the 67 shots he faced.
Lehner’s Playoff Run
The Islanders entered the 2019 Playoffs as the two-seed against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In Game 1, Lehner stopped 41 of 44 shots en route to an iconic Game 1 overtime victory. From there, he gave up three goals in his next three games, finishing Round 1 with a 4-0 record, 1.47 GAA, .955 SV%, and 4.93 GSAx.
Unfortunately, the Islanders struggled against the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 2, losing all four games. While Lehner played well, posting a 2.57 GAA, .910 SV%, and 0.64 GSAx in Round 2, the Islanders forwards struggled, scoring just five goals. Lehner was pulled in the second period of Game 4 after giving up three goals on 11 shots. That was only the second time with the Islanders he was pulled early from a start.
2019 Offseason
Following the 2019 Playoffs, nobody could have envisioned Lehner in another uniform. The way he spoke about the Islanders, the fanbase, his teammates, and management made it seem like an extension was inevitable. Unfortunately, the two sides could not agree to terms and Lehner signed with the Chicago Blackhawks for one year at $5 million.
Speaking on the decision to join the Blackhawks, Lehner said he was originally hopeful to return to the Islanders. He wanted multiple years, but Islanders management made it clear they were only going to offer him a short-term deal, later speculated to be two years at $10 million total. Lehner told Sportsnet “[the contract] was a little bit off in money and it was kind of an ultimatum… he took a couple of days to kind of think about it and when [he] came back and wanted to make something work they already went for another goalie.”
The “another goalie” was Semyon Varlamov, who the Islanders signed for four years at $20 million, carrying a $5 million annual salary, the exact value Lehner eventually signed for in Chicago. It is hard to say the Islanders made a mistake given Varlamov’s tenure with the Islanders. He led the team on multiple deep playoff runs and was an integral figure in getting Ilya Sorokin to join the Islanders from Russia. While the decision is understandable, it was still hard for the Islanders to move on from Lehner.
Five years later, Lehner’s impact on the fanbase remains. He had an emotional return to Long Island, and his passion and desire to better educate people on mental health stands true today. He will always have a home with the Islanders.
