Expect Big Things From Robin Lehner
When talking about the Buffalo Sabres it is easy to focus on names such as Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart among others, but the one most critical to their success is none of those. Sure, if Buffalo has any chance of going to the playoffs for its first time in five years, those three along with Kyle Okposo, Evander Kane and Rasmus Ristolainen will have to step up and lead the charge. But today I am focusing on the man who I believe is in line to have not only the best season of his career, but also the best year of any player on the team. This man is goalie, Robin Lehner.
Now before anyone calls me crazy, I will reference Lehner’s statistics from last season. His season was shortened considerably thanks to an ankle injury he suffered in the second period of his first start with the Sabres last year. He finished with just 5 wins in 24 starts but that includes a .924 save percentage and a 2.47 goals against average. Putting his .924 in perspective is something I like to do. Obviously it was a shortened season, but Braden Holtby took home the Vezina Trophy last year as the league’s top goalie and he posted a .922 save percentage. Like I said, Holtby played 66 games last year compared to Lehner’s 24, but it shows that Lehner was impressive when he was on the ice.
Another important thing to look at is the Sabres were a team in transition last year. They had just begun building after a two-year teardown that was completed beautifully by general manager Tim Murray. There are some people who will never be convinced that Lehner was worth the price tag of a first round pick, but I am willing to go out on a limb and say that the Senators made a mistake, even though they received that first round pick from the Sabres. Lehner turned 25 in July, which shows that his development is far from done. Add that to the fact that he was far and away the best goalie in the Senators organization at the time of the deal, and it is beginning to look like Murray made another smart deal, which he has become known for. (At least in my eyes)
But let me go more in depth as to why I feel that he is in line to have the best season of his young career. This offseason was the first in two years that Lehner was able to put in a full summer of work and that has made a world of difference to this point. He stayed in Buffalo and participated in a workout that was formed around MMA. Lehner has been said to have lost a lot of weight, he even said he is in the best shape of his life. I am sure that you are asking now, but what about the results? The sample size isn’t ideal, but he played in 3 preseason games and he won them all. Two of those starts saw him play against the team that the Senators could very well ice this season. He finished his preseason playing 181 minutes going 3-0 with a .960 save percentage and a 1.33 goals against average. Again, this is just the preseason and only 3 games, but this is definitely what Sabres fans are looking for from the netminder.
The Sabres were able to lock up its #1 defenseman today in Rasmus Ristolainen and that will be a welcome sight for Lehner. Add in Dmitry Kulikov and the backend isn’t perfect, but they are upgraded compared to last year’s model and that should bode well for Lehner. As this season plays out I truly expect for Lehner to show that he was worth the price that Buffalo paid. I am a firm believer that the Sabres will be back in the playoffs this year and the main reason for that will be a great season from Robin Lehner.
