NHL goaltender speaks out amid legal questions, rejects claim he’s ‘unreachable’

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner has spoken for the first time in two years about his injury problems and an ongoing attempt to return to the league.

IN an interview with in the Las Vegas Review-Journal – the 33-year-old Swedish goalkeeper pushed back on claims he was unreachable and expressed his frustration over his prolonged return to the ice as well as a Chapter 7 bankruptcy battle.

‘I don’t need sympathy or anything; screw it,’ he said during an exclusive phone interview with the Review-Journal.

‘Take something up that’s true and I can take it like a man. But everything is fake. No one knows what has happened to my family and my life after many of these things, and many, of course, will see in the future what actually happened.’

“But this portrays me as going AWOL and answering to no one,” said Lehner, who did not tell the newspaper where he lived — but said he is still in contact with family and loved ones.

Lehner also said he had previously given power of attorney to his attorney, Zach Larson — but he hadn’t spoken to Larson since December 2023, when the goaltender could not continue to pay his attorney fees.

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner spoke to the media for the first time in 2 years

Lehner addressed his ongoing bankruptcy and legal issues, as well as his personal struggles

‘But unfortunately, other circumstances will emerge in the future, and people can judge me on that. I couldn’t keep paying,’ Lehner said.

“And when I couldn’t keep paying, well, let’s just lie to the court and now the (newspapers) are saying this and it looks good to me (as) a father,” he said sarcastically.

In text messages with the newspaper after their phone interview ended, Lehner also denied a lawsuit alleging he and his wife sold clothes, shoes and other items — and claimed they don’t exist.

Lehner believes that the negative attention he has received from this bankruptcy case is damaging his reputation.

“When I actually had a pretty good reputation built up since I was in rehab with a good year on Long Island (with the New York Islanders) — best organization ever,” Lehner said.

‘Up to Chicago (Blackhawks) it was great. And Vegas (Golden Knights), I said it from the beginning, cruel, I don’t give a shit. They have no feelings and that’s why they win. Is that a good thing? Is this how it should be? I don’t know. We can discuss it. I don’t care.’

Lehner did not comment on his physical condition or the injuries that have kept him off the ice since after the 2021-22 season.

He also declined to comment on whether those injuries and the surgeries he underwent to repair them spelled the end of his NHL career.

Lehner has not played in the NHL since the 2021-22 season after injuries derailed his career

The 33-year-old netminder also talked about a reptile farm he owned, which attracted a lot of attention after the former owner of the farm was murdered by his wife. He said he was ‘trying to do a good thing’ with the animals on the property but that the way it was reported ‘wasn’t even close to what all these guys are saying’.

Lehner is in the final year of his contract with the Golden Knights. After he failed to report to a physical to remain on ‘long-term injured reserve,’ an agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA allowed Vegas to pay Lehner his season salary without it counting against the salary cap.

Later Friday, Lehner posted a series of lengthy tweets after the Review-Journal article was published. DailyMail.com cannot confirm the authenticity of these tweets, but has reached out to Lehner’s agent, the NHL, the NHL Players Association and the Vegas Golden Knights for comment or confirmation that the tweets came from him.

Lehner was drafted 46th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. He would go on to play for Ottawa, Buffalo Sabres, Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas.

In the NHL, Lehner won the Jennings Trophy twice as part of the goaltending tandem with the fewest goals conceded in the league. In 2019, he also won the Bill Masterton Trophy – an award given to a player who ‘best exemplifies the qualities of tenacity, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey’.

Lehner has previously gone public about his struggles with bipolar I disorder as well as post-traumatic stress disorder.