Back in 2019, the New York Islanders signed goaltender Semyon Varlamov to a four-year contract, worth $5 million per year. While that was their notable addition in net for the offseason, it meant losing Robin Lehner, who left as a free agent.
Lehner had joined the Islanders in the 2018 offseason, spending one year with the team and posting an excellent .930 save percentage in 46 games. When it came time to sign an extension, however, the two sides didn’t reach an agreement.
Recently, Lehner opened up about his negotiations with the Islanders, saying that the team had offered him a two-year deal, worth $4.5 million per year. Lehner then ended up taking a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks at a $5 million cap hit, before signing long-term with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Robin Lehner on the @camandstrickpod reveals the #Isles offer to him when he was a UFA in 2019 was a two-year extension for $4.5M.
"Obviously I wanted term and I thought I was worth more than $5M."
Letting Lehner walk in favour of Semyon Varlamov was a move questioned by many, myself included.
While Lehner did outperform Varlamov in the 2019-20 season, posting a .920 save percentage compared to Varlamov’s .914 save percentage, you can’t argue against Varlamov’s performance this season. The netminder posted a .929 save percentage, compared to Lehners’ .913 save percentage (in just 19 games).
It’s interesting to think about where the Islanders would be now with Lehner rather than Varlamov. You have to think the Islanders could’ve locked him up on a fairly similar contract to the one Varlamov is on, based on Lehner taking a deal with Vegas at the same cap hit, with one more year added on.
As to how re-signing Lehner rather than bringing in Varlamov would be impacting the Islanders right now though, the answer is probably not a ton, to be honest. Lehner is a great goalie and had a better 2019-20 season, but Varlamov was dominant this year. We’ll probably see both goalies even out a bit next season and possibly provide similar value to their respective teams, considering each netminder has found success with their new team.
Goaltending is a strength for the Islanders and the reality is that probably would’ve been the case with either goalie. Regardless, you have to think the plan was always to transition to Ilya Sorokin at some point down the line anyways. Either way, it’s interesting to look back on the decision, which changed the face of the Islanders’ goaltending situation two years ago.
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Do you think the Islanders made the right decision in going with Semyon Varlamov and letting Robin Lehner walk as a free agent?
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