Tim Murray's loves him some big hockey players. He wants huge defenseman to support large forwards. He has a prerequisite for huge goalies. Murray's long term pursuit of Robin Lehner finally materialized last June. When the Ottawa Senators re-signed "The Hamburglar" and agreed t keep Craig Anderson, Lehner became the third wheel in Kanata. Actually, Lehner became the fourth goalie in the Sens' system after Bryan Murray won the free agency sweepstakes for Boston University Terriers goalie Matt O'Connor.
Lehner saw the writing on the wall and so did Tim Murray.
So did Bryan Murray who told NHL.com at the NHL Draft that he did not want to trade Lehner to Buffalo because the Sens would have to face him as a division rival for years to come.
"It's OK. We get a first-round pick; it's how we use the first-round pick, that's part of it," Murray told the team's website after the trade. "We know full well, and I talked to Tim about this a number of times during our trade negotiations, that we believe, and we believe very strongly, that Robin Lehner is going to be a top goaltender in the league.
"I didn't want to put him in Buffalo, I wanted him to go out west, but I couldn't get a deal done to our satisfaction. So he ends up in Buffalo and playing against the Ottawa Senators for a number of years."
Lehner attracted more interest from other teams than Sens starter Craig Anderson did, who is 34 and has three more years left on a contract with a hugesalary cap charge of $4.2 million. Lehner is signed for two more years at a cap charge of $2.225 million and will be a restricted free agent when the contract expires in 2017.
"It's difficult, but we made a decision that Craig Anderson was the number one guy last year," Murray said of trading Lehner. "He's got three years left on his contract, he's more experienced but also has proven to be a real legitimate No 1 goaltender, probably one of the top 10 in the League."
Some would say that Tim Murray was out of his mind when he agreed to trade his 21st overall pick in the June draft in exchange for Lehner and veteran center David Legwand. Murray doesn't care what the armchair GMs say about his confidence in Lehner. He is crazy like a fox. He knows a great player when he sees one. Murray identified Lehner, 24, as his main goalie target. Uncle Bryan didn't want to trade Lehner to nephew Tim until he made his mentor an offer he couldn't refuse.
In the end, Murray got his big goalie from Uncle Bryan.
Murray and Lehner have history that dates back to their 2010-11 Calder Trophy winning days in AHL Bingampton.
Lehner announced Tuesday that he will get the net against his former teammates on Wednesday night. Lehner says "Bring it on!"
"It's a little weird, but I've got to approach it as any other game and just do my best," Lehner said.
Lehner will be the starter come opening night when the same Senators squad travels to Buffalo on October 8.
No pressure.
"I'm just here in camp trying to get better every day and work on a few things. I was away from the ice for a while and I feel really good on the ice so I feel like I'm making progress every day. That's all I'm worrying about right now in camp and trying to prepare myself for the first game," Lehner said.
Lehner hasn't appeared in an NHL games since February 14 when he suffered a concussion with former Sens teammate Clarke MacArthur. Lehner required 5 months of rest and recovery to allow his body to heal. Since July, he has been logging tons of ice time to get himself back into game shape. Lehner has looked very aggressive and composed in the first five days of training camp. At 6'5" and 230 lbs. Lehner, a Gotberg, Sweden native, is a huge goalie who hasn't shown many holes in his net and plays on the top of his crease and challenges shooters with his precise angles. I like whagt I have seen of him thus far. Its hard not to notice him as he is always screaming instructions to his D-men and forwards. Lehner is the antithesis of the cerebral Ryan Miller who would speak in dulcet tones on the ice. Lehner's voice rattles and slams the glass like Sully Erna from Godmack or Rob Halford of Judas Priest. His teammates are getting used to their new traffic cop in the crease.
Lehner started 86 games over parts of five seasons with the Senators. He’ll play two periods on Wednesdaynight. He will give way to Andrey Makarov.
Lehner said Tuesday that he isn't going to put too many expectations on himself against the Sens. He is going to take it easy and let the game come to him. He says that he is feeling comfortable on the ice right now after having been away from the heat of battle for such a long period of time. “Honestly, just go out and start getting in games,… he said. “I have no expectations really, I want to win like always, but also realize that camp is a little different for me this year, getting back into things and getting back into games and game situations. I feel really good in practice and felt good last scrimmage but every day, a little bit better.…
Thanks, Sabres.com
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Dan Bylsma will roll out the Evander Kane, Ryan O’Reilly and Tyler Ennis trio.
Jamie McGinn, Sam Reinhart and Brian Gionta will also make their exhibition season debuts. The game will air on NHL Network on Wednesday at 10:30 pm and will be rerun Thursday at noon and 5 pm.
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