NHL Rumors: Golden Knights Not Trading For A Goaltender

It appears as though the Vegas Golden Knights will not trade for a goaltender after news broke that Robin Lehner will miss the entire 2022-23 season. Sheng Peng reported that unless something falls in the Golden Knights' lap, they will start the season with Logan Thompson and Michael Hutchinson.

There are concerns with this as Thompson would be forced into a starting role after starting just 17 games in the NHL in his career while Hutchinson has played 38 games in the NHL since the start of the 2017-18 season. Thompson played well in the time he spent in net for Vegas last season, going 10-5-3 with a .914 save percentage. He may be able to handle some of the heavy workload, but it will be a real test. Hutchinson on the other hand is a third goaltender at best in any organization and will more than likely have trouble.

A reason why the Golden Knights are confident in starting the season with a Thompson/Hutchinson tandem is because the team feels like Laurent Brossoit is ahead of schedule in his recovery for his hip. He could return as early as a few weeks into the season, so Thompson shouldn't have a ton of pressure on him for too long. Brossoit has had his fair share of time missed and is a backup at best when he's healthy.

The Golden Knights are taking a risk and hoping that their goaltenders can be good enough to help them stay in contention. And just because the team is starting the season with the goaltenders they currently have, doesn't mean they won't be aggressive and upgrade at the trade deadline if they've stayed afloat.