Lehner happy with trade to Golden Knights that 'came out of nowhere'

LAS VEGAS -- Robin Lehner had a feeling he was going to be traded prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on Monday, but the goalie said he did not expect the Vegas Golden Knights to be the destination.

"Hearing from a few teams, Vegas came out of nowhere," Lehner said. "I was a little shocked, but very excited, pleasantly surprised. [Heck] of a hockey team in here, and fun to join a team that has a chance to win the Cup. I'll try to be as good as I can and help when I can."
Lehner practiced with the Golden Knights for the first time Tuesday. He was 16-10-5 with a 3.10 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage with the Chicago Blackhawks splitting time with Corey Crawford.
"Group's been welcoming so far," he said. "You can see it's a really good group of people here. I'm excited to join them. That's been a reputation of this team."
The 28-year-old was acquired by Vegas in a three-team trade involving the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Chicago traded Lehner to Toronto for forward prospect Martins Dzierkals, and the Maple Leafs then traded Lehner to the Golden Knights for a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Chicago then traded Dzierkals to Vegas and received goalie Malcolm Subban, defenseman prospect Slava Demin and a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Lehner signed a one-year, $5 million contract with Chicago on July 1 as an unrestricted free agent after playing 2018-19 for the New York Islanders. He said he was hopeful the Blackhawks would offer him a contract prior to the trade deadline.
Asked if he expected to be traded, he said, "Yes and no. Ask me a few weeks ago, no. I felt like the last few days it was going to be the case."
Lehner will be the presumptive 1-B to 1-A goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Each will be in the lineup against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, SNW, NHL.TV), but the starter has not been decided.
"I played with good goalies my whole career ever since my Ottawa [Senators] days with Craig Anderson, Brian Elliott. This is no different," Lehner said. "I'm coming in here to do my best and help the team win. Marc-Andre is obviously one of the best goalies in the League and has been for his whole career."

Fleury is 25-14-5 in his third season with Vegas and has won his past four starts, but his 2.79 GAA and .906 save percentage are his lowest since 2016-17 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Subban was 9-7-3 with a 3.18 GAA and .890 save percentage as Fleury's primary backup this season.
Fleury said he believes Lehner can push him to be better in the final 18 games. Vegas (34-22-8), on a season-high six-game winning streak, leads Edmonton and the Vancouver Canucks by two points for first place in the Pacific Division.
"I think it pushes you to do well, to keep playing," Fleury said. "It's only good for the team also. If you can push each other to do well, the team will benefit from that."
Fleury, who has started 151 games the past three season, said he would welcome a split workload with Lehner, and that he's committed to doing whatever is best for the Golden Knights. Lehner said his own workload is "not on my agenda."
Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said he plans on rotating the two.
"There's no doubt we have two elite goalies," DeBoer said. "I'm a big believer that competition at any position is a great motivational tool and it pushes competitive people to new levels. I'm excited about that."
Fleury said adding Lehner is a win-now sign for the Golden Knights, who are trying to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a third consecutive season and the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in their three-season history.
"That's what we play for," Lehner said. "I think this team has a legitimate chance. Really good team, good coaching staff, they have all the ingredients."