The Chicago Blackhawks and general manager Stan Bowman surprised some across the league when they signed backup goalie Robin Lehner. Many expected Collin Delia to be the Blackhawks backup goalie after his performance last year.Delia's numbers weren't the best, however he proved to fit in and comes in pretty cheap. Those numbers weren't acceptable for Bowman though especially considering Corey Crawford's injury history. Bowman signed Robin Lehner to a one year $5million contract which now sets the Blackhawks up with one of the most expensive tandems in the league and more a 1a 1b situation. Chicago now has $11million in salary cap space devoted to the goalie position but considering the success of the Hawks when they had tandems like Crawford/Emery, Crawford/Raanta and Crawford/Darling, Bowman isn't concerned. «As far as how much money is spent on the goal, it's the most important position in the game,» Bowman told The Athletic. «Looking back on the last few years, it's certainly been hard to weather the storm when injuries are part of the game. I think we have the best one-two punch in the league is the way I look at it right now. I certainly feel really comfortable going into next season, whether Corey Crawford's in net or Robin Lehner's in net. We've got two high-end goaltenders, we've improved our defense, we've made some changes up front. We're a different team. I'm very optimistic for where we're headed.»
It's a move Bowman felt he had to make. «I certainly wasn't expecting Robin to be available,» Bowman said. «It's rare for a Vezina finalist to be available in this situation, for us to be able to get him, it was very recent that we were able to have those convos. I spoke to his agent and then today it was a good opportunity for myself and Jeremy, we both were able to talk to Robin. I think as you guys just heard, very genuine, sincere, articulate guy. Really enjoyed the couple of phone calls I had with him today talking to him on a number of topics. It just felt right from the first time we spoke, it felt like this was going to be a great opportunity for him and for us. Really happy with how it all played out.»
