Robin Lehner (born 24 July 1991), nicknamed "Panda", is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. A goaltender, he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights. The Senators selected Lehner in the second round, 46th overall, of the 2009 NHL entry draft.
Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, Lehner learned how to goaltend from his father, who personally coached Henrik Lundqvist, and began playing hockey in the J20 SuperElit league. In 2009, he turned down an opportunity to back up Frölunda HC goaltender Johan Holmqvist in the Swedish Hockey League, opting instead to move to North America, where he had an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) record five shutout appearances for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds during the 2009–10 season. After one year in the OHL, Lehner joined Ottawa's American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, with whom he won the 2011 Calder Cup. When he debuted with Ottawa in 2010, Lehner became the youngest goaltender in franchise history, as well as the youngest Swedish goaltender to appear in an NHL game. Complications from the 2012–13 NHL lockout delayed Lehner's rise to the NHL, but he found a permanent spot in Ottawa's lineup by the season. In 2015, the Senators traded Lehner to Buffalo, where, despite putting up solid save percentages through three seasons, he was plagued by inconsistency, and his overall record was limited by a poor Buffalo offence.
Lehner left a game in March 2018 with what was later revealed to be a panic attack, caused by undiagnosed bipolar disorder and an alcohol addiction that had begun when he sustained a concussion in Ottawa. After spending time at a drug rehabilitation facility, Lehner signed a one-year contract with the Islanders for the 2018-19 season, which culminated in his first William M. Jennings Trophy, an award he shared with teammate Thomas Greiss. Lehner also won the Bill Masterton Trophy and finished third in Vezina voting. In New York, Chicago, and Vegas, Lehner often platooned the goaltending role with another veteran, such as Greiss, Corey Crawford, or Marc-André Fleury. When Fleury was abruptly traded to the Blackhawks prior to the season, Lehner became the Golden Knights' starting goaltender. Lehner missed the entire season after a hip surgery in August 2022, and also missed the season. After he failed to report to a medical exam prior to the season, the Golden Knights agreed to a $4.4 million salary payout for that year and cut him from the team. Lehner has not played in the NHL since.
Off the ice, Lehner has become an advocate for open discussion of mental health, addiction, drug addiction, and trauma, particularly within the world of ice hockey. While Lehner represented Sweden at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships and the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, physical and mental health issues have prevented him from attending future international tournaments, including the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Early life Lehner was born on 24 July 1991 in Gothenburg, Sweden, to parents Michael and Veronica Lehner. Originally an association football player, Lehner made the switch to ice hockey at the age of 10, and was coached by his father. Michael, a mixed martial artist with no goaltending experience, had been asked to train future National Hockey League (NHL) player Henrik Lundqvist; whom Robin had idolized around the same time as he expressed an interest in learning the position, and so Robin was often asked to try out drills meant for Lundqvist. The intensity of Michael Lehner's training regimen created a strained relationship between father and son that reconciled with adulthood. Lehner briefly attended high school in Sweden, but chose to drop out at the age of 14 after deciding that the public education system "did not work" for him.
Playing career Amateur Lehner's amateur career began with the J20 SuperElit division of the Swedish Frölunda HC, with whom he had an opportunity to back up Johan Holmqvist in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) if he could impress in the under-20 team. In 22 games with Frölunda during the 2008–09 season, Lehner had a 3.05 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Although he was offered the position backing up Holmqvist for the 2009–10 SHL season, Lehner had already contemplated quitting ice hockey after extra blood vessels in his hamstring caused him acute pain on the ice. He was only inspired to continue after he and his father took a trip to New York to see Henrik Lundqvist play for the New York Rangers. That experience inspired Lehner to continue his career in a North American junior ice hockey program.
Coming off of his Swedish junior season, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Lehner the top European goaltender available in the 2009 NHL entry draft. The Ottawa Senators, who had acquired an additional second-round draft pick in a larger goaltending trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, used that extra pick to select Lehner 46th overall in the 2009 draft. More immediately, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) selected Lehner ninth overall in the 2009 CHL Import Draft, and he moved to Ontario to join the team for their 2009–10 season. Despite missing time in November after contracting the H1N1 influenza virus during the 2009 swine flu pandemic, Lehner's one season with Sault Ste. Marie was a success, with a 27–13–3 record, 2.88 GAA, and .918 save percentage. His five OHL shutouts were also a league record, shared with Chris Carrozzi and Patrick Killeen, breaking Ray Emery's four-shutout season in 2001–02.
Professional Ottawa Senators (2010–2015)
Upon the conclusion of the Greyhounds' season, Lehner signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Senators, and he closed out the 2009–10 hockey season with the Binghamton Senators, Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. He made his professional ice hockey debut on 9 April 2010, making 21 saves in a 6–5 victory over the Syracuse Crunch. He also won his only other start with Binghamton that year, making 31 saves in a 3–1 defeat of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Although he was scheduled to open the season in Binghamton, injuries to both Ottawa's starting goaltender Pascal Leclaire and top prospect Mike Brodeur forced the Senators to call Lehner up to the NHL as a backup for Brian Elliott. He made his NHL debut on 16 October 2010, stopping all three shots he faced in the five minutes at the start of the third period during which Elliott needed to repair his broken skate blade. Only 19 years old at the time, Lehner became both the youngest goaltender in Senators history and the youngest Swedish goaltender to appear in an NHL game in his debut. Lehner returned to Binghamton on 1 November and remained there until 12 January 2011, when he was once again called to fill in for an injured Leclaire. He made his first NHL start the next day, taking the win with 20 saves in a 6–4 victory over the New York Islanders and breaking a six-game losing streak for Ottawa. While Lehner only spent eight games in Ottawa, he spent an additional 22 in Binghamton, where he went 10–8–2 with a 2.70 GAA as a backup for Barry Brust. Brust started the first four games of Binghamton's 2011 postseason run, but after falling 3–1 in a seven-game series against the Manchester Monarchs, he was pulled in favour of Lehner, who completed the 4–3 series comeback and carried them through to the next playoff round. With a 14–4 record, 2.10 GAA, .939 save percentage, and three shutouts in 19 postseason appearances, Lehner received the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the AHL postseason MVP for his role in Binghamton's first Calder Cup championship.
Lehner spent most of the season in Binghamton, with a few emergency call-ups to the NHL. First, he was promoted at the end of October to replace an injured Alex Auld, making one appearance in a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs before being sent down again on 4 November. Lehner expected a longer call-up on 23 February after starter Craig Anderson slashed his hand open in a cooking incident, an injury that required surgery and extended recovery time, but he was sent back down on 5 March to allow Ben Bishop a chance to skate in the NHL. In the midst of this second call-up, Lehner received his first NHL shutout, stopping all 32 shots against him in a 1–0 defeat of the Boston Bruins. That season, he played five games in Ottawa, going 3–2–0 in the process, and 40 games with Binghamton. He finished the year with a 3.26 GAA and .907 save percentage, but was overshadowed by teammate Mike McKenna's AHL presence.
While the 2012–13 NHL lockout postponed the start of the regular season, the concurrent AHL season continued as planned, and Lehner returned to Binghamton to wait out the lockout. There, he participated in the AHL All-Star Classic, goaltending for the Eastern Conference team in their 7–6 loss to the West By the time that the lockout ended in January, Lehner was second among AHL goaltenders with a 0.945 save percentage, and was third in the league with a 1.90 GAA. He expected that he would return to Ottawa when the NHL season picked back up, but after Anderson impressed his coaches in training camp, Lehner was sent back down to Binghamton, as unlike other backup Ben Bishop, he would not have to clear waivers before returning to the AHL. Ottawa faced a number of injuries within the first month of the season, however, and Lehner was called up on 22 February when Anderson sprained his right ankle. In 12 NHL starts during the lockout-protracted season, Lehner had a .936 save percentage and a 2.20 GAA, his impact on the ice limited only by Anderson's presence. He also appeared in 31 AHL games, during which he had a .938 save percentage and a 2.12 GAA. Lehner also made his first NHL postseason appearance in Game 2 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals, where he and Anderson were on the receiving end of a Sidney Crosby hat-trick in a 4–3 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Lehner opened a season in the NHL for the first time in , serving as a full-time backup for Anderson. When Anderson was sidelined with a neck injury at the start of November. Lehner delivered three wins in his absence, posting a 1.33 GAA and .958 save percentage and taking home the First Star of the Week for the week ending 11 November. Anderson's poor performance upon his return to the lineup led to calls that he be replaced with Lehner as the new starting goaltender, but Lehner did not receive an opportunity to take over again until March, when Anderson suffered a shoulder injury. Not receiving regular playing time made it difficult for Lehner to adjust to the starting role: between Anderson's two injuries, Lehner played in only 18 games. In the 36 games that Lehner did play during the 2013–14 season, he went 12–15–6 compared to Anderson's 25–16–8, but their other metrics were comparable: Lehner had a GAA of 3.06 compared to 3.00 for Anderson, while his .913 save percentage was only .002 higher than Anderson's.