Chicago Blackhawks: Adding Robin Lehner is a brilliant move

The Chicago Blackhawks needed some stability in the blue paint and now they have that after their most recent acquisition via free agency.

The Chicago Blackhawks were a little uncertain about how their goaltending would be in 2019-20. That really isn’t in question anymore after the signing of free agent goalie Robin Lehner. He had a fantastic season in 2018-19 after an incredible year.

Lehner had a banner year personally and with his team. The Islanders came into last year with low expectations after being the leagues worst defensive team the year prior. Lehner came in and was incredible and helped them get back to the playoffs despite losing their former captain John Tavares and the previously mentioned low expectations.

So how good was he last season? He went 25-13-5  including six shutouts. He had a 2.13 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. These awesome numbers led to him being nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the leagues best goalie. It was an awesome year for him so if he brings this confidence to Chicago they will have a really nice tandem.

Corey Crawford and Collin Delia are here but adding Lehner likely pushes Lehner down to Rockford, but Crawford’s recent concussion history appears to have the Blackhawks worried about the position. If Crawford were to run into issues again next season, Lehner and Delia would be able to carry the load.

Lehner as a human being is also an incredible story. By getting to the New York Islanders last season, he proved that anything is possible. He won the Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey because of his incredible story. He had issues with his mental health and substance abuse that had his career in jeopardy. He battled all the way back from that and got to an elite level, so for both his and the Blackhawks sake hopefully he can keep it going.

He is an easy guy to root for and now he will be coming to Chicago. The deal is a one year, five million dollar deal. That is a steal if he puts up the same numbers as he had last year. Hawks fans should be super happy about this one.