If anyone thought goaltender Robin Lehner would be willing to take a discount to remain in Chicago after this season, they were wrong. Lehner feels he should be paid what he is worth and if Chicago isn't wiling to do that, he'll look elsewhere.
"We'll see what happens, but I've been taking discounts my whole life," Lehner said. "I'm not a guy who wants to be overpaid either. I want to gain some respect that I think I deserve. We'll see if that happens or not. We'll see what happens."
Lehner signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Blackhawks at the beginning of the season, meaning he'll be a free agent again after this one. He's been excellent for Chicago, recording a 14-7-4 record with a 2.85 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
"We'll see what happens, but I'll let the agents and [Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman] figure that out," Lehner said. "It's a different summer this summer than last summer. Me personally, it's another year under my belt in my new journey. The market is quite open; a lot of teams need goalies, and yeah, it's not that many goalies that are available this season."
"All I know is I really like it here and we'll see," Lehner said. "I've learned enough, this is a business and no matter how good things are going, how well you like it, sometimes it's not up to you and it's not in your control. But I know where I stand, I really like this team and I still really believe in this team. and the pieces this team has. I'd like to be a part of the turnaround."
GM Stan Bowman said he would love to keep the 28-year-old netminder.
His reading of the game is second to none," Bowman said. "I think you put that together with the amount of net he covers on his own, then his reaction time and his anticipation, he makes some great saves. Even when we're not on top of our game, he keeps us in the games long enough to get going. I think that's what you're hoping your goalies can do, and he's been excellent."
Source: NHL.com
