Chicago Blackhawks: How Much Is Robin Lehner Worth?

With the $11,000,000 AAV free, how much is Robin Lehner worth? I’ve heard anywhere from $7,500,000 AAV to $9,000,000 AAV. First off, he hasn’t won anything of significance. If two-time Stanley Cup champion Corey Crawford signed a $6,000,000 AAV deal, why would Lehner be paid up to $3,000,000 AAV more? It doesn’t make sense.

It would make more sense for Lehner to be offered a $7,500,000 AAV contract at the most. If they were to go higher, it would have to be a two-year deal max. They’ll have to pay Adam Boqvist and Kirby Dach in the future. They can’t be stuck with a bad contract that closes their championship window.

They’ve already dealt with two bad contracts on the blue-line. Those two players being Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. In 2020, Keith has stepped up his game. He’s still not worth $5538,462 AAV. Seabrook isn’t worth $6,875,000 AAV either. The worst part about their contracts is their no-movement clauses.

Lehner cannot end up turning into a bad contract. If the Blackhawks wait until the summer to start the contract negotiations, they might end up having to overpay for him. If they overpay for Lehner, it could turn into a bad contract.

I’ll give you an example. Sergei Bobrovsky is getting $10,000,000 AAV a season by the Panthers. The Panthers aren’t even in the playoffs as this article is being written. Bobrovsky hasn’t won any of significance either. He isn’t worth what he is getting paid. He was overpaid.

The Blackhawks already are paying Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane $10,500,000 AAV each. They cannot add anything close to that. If they want to have only three good players, they can overpay for guys. If they want to open up a championship window that will last five to 10 seasons, they’ll have to wait.