Lehner left hanging in the balance with Isles’ latest move

Robin Lehner wants to stay with the New York Islanders. He has no plans to meet with other teams despite the fact that he will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st if he can’t sign an extension with the Isles. 

And most insiders point to the possibility of the Islanders passing up on him for now, seeing that GM Lou Lamoriello wants to take a shot at two coveted free agents: star forward Artemi Panarin and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. 

Cap Friendly indicates that New York has has over $20 million in projected cap space this summer, which could be sufficient for both Bobrovsky and Panarin. 

On Wednesday night, Islanders insider Andy Graziano reported that pending UFA Joe Pavelski won’t meet with Lamoriello seeing that the single focus in New York remains on Panarin and Bobrovsky. 

“[Anders] Lee and Lenher hanging in the balance.” 

Lehner inked on a one-year contract last summer with the Isles, which became one of the season's best signings. Lehner posted a 25-13-5 record along with a .930 save percentage to help the Isles return to the playoffs while only counting for $1.5 million against the cap.

Everyone around the league loves Lehner, who recently took home the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for best exemplifying perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the sport, and hope he remains positive at this difficult time.