The Golden Knights’ net belongs to Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon said Thursday that’s the tandem the team will go with in the wake of goaltender Robin Lehner’s hip injury, expected to sideline him for the season. Lehner needs surgery on both hips, and McCrimmon said he thinks one procedure has been done.
The timing of Lehner’s injury, which was announced Aug. 11, didn’t leave the Knights many options in the free agent or trade market. They also didn’t feel compelled to make a move after discussions with coach Bruce Cassidy and director of goaltending Sean Burke.
“We just went through it internally, and we like these two guys,” McCrimmon said. “These two guys have earned this. They deserve that opportunity.”
McCrimmon said Lehner, who also had offseason shoulder surgery, returned to his native Sweden this summer after spending about a month completing the early parts of his rehab in Las Vegas. Lehner also was having trouble with his hips, a common injury for goaltenders based on the stress playing the position puts on their body. Brossoit also is recovering from offseason hip surgery.
McCrimmon said the Knights couldn’t properly diagnose Lehner’s injury until he returned to Las Vegas in late July. Then, after undergoing MRIs, he met with a specialist in Nashville, Tennessee, who recommended surgery as quickly as possible.
“The doctor’s words were, ‘If you were a family member, I’d encourage you to do this now,’” McCrimmon said. “It’s a situation where the doctor felt he really wouldn’t be able to get through a season.”
The Knights now will rely on Thompson and Brossoit to lead them back to the NHL playoffs after missing out for the first time last season. Thompson, 25, showed promise as a rookie by going 10-5-3 with a .914 save percentage and 2.68 goals-against average. Brossoit, 29, was 10-9-3 with an .895 save percentage and 2.90 goals-against average in his first season with the Knights.
McCrimmon said Brossoit will return to Las Vegas this month, and the team will know more then about his recovery from surgery. It’s unclear if he will be ready to start the season.
“I thought (Brossoit) played a lot of real good hockey for us last year,” McCrimmon said. “And in Logan Thompson, like a lot of you, we’re really excited and intrigued by his talent, his upside, his competitiveness.”
Hague “priority one”
The Knights’ next focus, after signing veteran forward Phil Kessel on Wednesday, is a new contract for defenseman Nic Hague.
The 23-year-old is the team’s lone remaining restricted free agent. McCrimmon said the Knights are “hopeful and optimistic” about signing Hague before training camp begins Sept. 21. They signed restricted free agents Dylan Coghlan and Nolan Patrick in the final eight days before camp last year.
“Nic Hague is priority one,” McCrimmon said. “He’s one of our own.”
