With just days to go before the NHL season, the league and NHLPA have reached an agreement on Robin Lehner. The Golden Knights goalie did not report to training camp despite being under contract. Lehner's $5 million cap hit will not count against the Golden Knights but he will be paid, per Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

“Sources say a resolution has been reached on Robin Lehner situation with [the] Golden Knights,” Seravalli posted. “Lehner will NOT be on Vegas’ salary cap this season. Believe Lehner will still be paid. Big win for the Golden Knights, who likely will not have to operate in LTIR to start the season.”

This helps Vegas tremendously, as they are always fighting against the cap ceiling. Last year, captain Mark Stone was injured for the entire regular season and came back just in time for the playoffs. Now, as Seravalli mentioned, the Golden Knights will likely not have to use LTIR to be cap-compliant this season.

Lehner was selected to be the goalie over Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury after the 2022 season. He was the starter headed into 2022-23 but got hurt during that season. Adin Hill and Laurent Broissoit steadied the ship to a championship and Lehner has not played since.

Golden Knights' goalie plans without Robin Lehner

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According to Lehner, there was never any plan for him to suit up for this season. His career may be over because of the injuries and the Golden Knights have pivoted in net. They traded Logan Thompson to the Capitals, got Akira Schmid from the Devils, and signed Ilya Samsonov. Those two will battle for the backup role behind Hill, who parlayed the Cup run into a long-term deal.

Lehner spoke about the controversy before the decision. He said that there was never a plan for him to report to training camp and there was no controversy to speak of. While the Golden Knights may not have expected Lehner to report, they still needed to go through this process.

Lehner was on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) last season and was supposed to be there this year. To remain on LTIR, he has to have a physical that proves he is unable to play. Without reporting to training camp, that appointment never happened. While this was a messy situation, both sides got out of it positively. Lehner still makes his money while the Golden Knights do not have to do the same cap gymnastics as last year.