The club and the goaltender are far enough apart in contract talks that a league source told The Athletic's Arthur Staple that Lehner will almost certainly play elsewhere next season.
After the unrestricted free-agent negotiating window opened Sunday, the pending UFA said he had no plans to talk to another team at that point. Last week, he said he loves the organization and wants to be back.
Lehner is coming off the one-year, $1.5-million pact he inked with New York last July.
The netminder, who'll turn 28 in July, was one of the best stories of the 2018-19 season. He won the Jennings Trophy along with teammate Thomas Greiss, was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, and won the Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
During training camp last fall, Lehner revealed his bipolar disorder diagnosis as well as his struggles with substance abuse.
He had a career season on the ice, posting a .930 save percentage in 46 appearances while helping the Islanders complete a turnaround that also earned head coach Barry Trotz the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top head coach.
The New Jersey Devils have gone a long way in adding significant star power to their roster early in the offseason, pulling off a blockbuster trade for blue-liner P.K. Subban and drafting American phenom Jack Hughes first overall.
New Jersey's moves have impressed star forward Taylor Hall, who can't wait to get going with his new teammates.
"As a player in the offseason, that's what you want to see," Hall said, per TSN. "It's exciting. We're going to have more than a couple new faces next year. Just injecting some new blood in the team is going to be really good."
Hall's 2018-19 season was tarnished by injuries - a disappointing follow-up to his Hart Trophy-winning campaign the year prior, when he carried the Devils to a playoff berth.
With Subban and Hughes now available to help carry the former MVP's load, Hall sees a turnaround for his team on the horizon.
"Whether he's playing on the power play or he's playing against the other team's top lines, he's going to be a guy that makes everyone else's jobs on the ice easier," Hall said of Subban.
"I'm really excited to play with him."
The developments come at an opportune moment for Hall, who is an unrestricted free agent next summer and intends to prioritize winning a Stanley Cup at this stage of his career.
Taylor Hall says he’s realizing he only has so many more shots to contend for Cup. Being on a contender will play heavily into free agency decision. Also says Devils have to make playoffs in 2020.
Carolina acquired the 39-year-old from the Toronto Maple Leafs via trade at the draft and owes Marleau his $3-million signing bonus plus $833,333 split over the next two years, DeCock adds.
The Leafs packaged Marleau along with a conditional first-round pick and a seventh-rounder in 2020 to offload his $6.25-million cap hit and received a sixth-round selection in return.
Marleau hasn't missed a game since the 2008-09 campaign and registered 16 goals and 21 assists for Toronto last season. It's widely expected that he's seeking a return to the San Jose Sharks, with whom he spent the first 19 years of his career.
NHL free agency doesn't officially begin until July 1, but with the UFA and RFA negotiating periods now underway, the landscape is beginning to take shape.
Several big-name players have already been linked to potential new teams, and while some of those connections would be intriguing, the matches aren't necessarily the most entertaining scenarios.
Here are a handful of moves that would have us stockpiling popcorn in anticipation of next season:
Panarin to Avalanche
David Becker / National Hockey League / Getty
With the Florida Panthers clearly making a push to land both Artemi Panarin and his netminding teammate Sergei Bobrovsky (more on him below), that destination would make a lot of sense here, especially considering new head coach Joel Quenneville's history with the Russian sniper.
However, there's a much more exciting and competitive squad Panarin could join.
The team holds more than $35 million to spend on free agents this offseason. Rantanen is due a chunk of that, and yes, goaltender Semyon Varlamov is another one of Colorado's 12 combined pending UFAs and RFAs. But the Avalanche can still fit Panarin's likely double-digit cap hit under the ceiling if he wants to sign with them.
Colorado is a playoff team with a dominant top line, a blue-line corps loaded with potential, and capable goaltending. Now the Avalanche need secondary scoring, and Panarin can address that as the best scorer available.
Bobrovsky to Hurricanes
Gregg Forwerck / National Hockey League / Getty
The Panthers appear to be the common-sense destination for both Panarin and Bobrovsky. But how great would it be if the veteran goalie joined the "Bunch of Jerks?"
Carolina's goaltending situation is uncertain right now, as both Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney are pending unrestricted free agents, and Scott Darling is likely getting bought out. McElhinney turned 36 years old last month, and Calder Cup-winning prospect Alex Nedeljkovic will likely get a shot at making the big club next season.
Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell says he's talking to Mrazek daily and is confident he'll sign a No. 1 goalie, whether it's the 27-year-old or someone else.
Someone else, you say? If you're Waddell, wouldn't you rather ink Bobrovsky, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner fresh off the best postseason of his career, over Mrazek, who was inconsistent in the 2019 playoffs and hasn't started more than 40 regular-season games since 2016-17?
Carolina needs to lock up Sebastian Aho, and the team would surely prefer to keep Justin Williams and Micheal Ferland in the fold, too. But the Hurricanes are in win-now mode with a projected $25 million to work with this summer. Go get Bobrovsky, Don.
Duchene to Canadiens
Jamie Sabau / National Hockey League / Getty
The Nashville Predators appear to be the front-runner for Matt Duchene's services. He's a fit there, especially after Predators general manager David Poile mentioned he wants to strengthen his forward corps with the cap space freed up following the P.K. Subban trade.
But isn't there another team in greater need of an upgrade down the middle after trying in vain to land a first-line center for years?
The Canadiens need to take care of several free agents with only about $9 million in projected cap space, including Artturi Lehkonen. However, If Montreal can get Karl Alzner's contract off the books, that might clear enough room to pay Duchene what he's worth.
Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has never been shy about making major moves, and this is one he should pursue.
Pavelski to Lightning
Rocky W. Widner/NHL / Getty Images Sport / Getty
It's hard to imagine Joe Pavelski playing for any team but the San Jose Sharks. He's spent his entire 13-year career in San Jose, including the last four as captain.
However, Pavelski suiting up for the high-octane Tampa Bay Lightning - a club he reportedly met with on Wednesday night - would be appointment viewing.
Sure, he'll turn 35 years old in July, and the Lightning don't have much wiggle room under the cap with Brayden Point in need of a new deal.
But remember, Tampa was swept in the first round of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion this past spring after a historic regular season.
Adding "Captain America" would give the Lightning a proven playoff performer, an unquestioned leader, and a forward who can still produce at a high level. Pavelski racked up 38 regular-season goals and four more in the postseason with the Sharks in 2018-19.
As nice as it would be for Pavelski to finish his career with the only organization he's ever known, watching the veteran bolster a Bolts team that already includes Point, Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman is a tantalizing proposition, and it could help the Lightning vanquish their playoff demons.
Marner signs an offer sheet
Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty
As unlikely as this may be, it needs to happen for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, a team issuing the Toronto Maple Leafs an offer sheet for star restricted free-agent forward Mitch Marner would throw an under-utilized wrench into NHL free agency, making the offseason infinitely more entertaining. More practically, playing the offer-sheet card here would put the Leafs in further cap hell, to the benefit of every other club.
So, beyond the obvious acrimony it would create between two rival front offices, signing Marner to an offer sheet is a move worth making for opposing teams with cap space and draft picks to burn.
The possibility of a player getting an offer sheet has loomed for years in the NHL. Now with so many RFAs out there, it's time to turn speculation into reality.
Plenty of teams have the flexibility and assets to give Marner an offer sheet. Even if the Leafs match, it would arguably be worthwhile for certain clubs, and what's wrong with a little gamesmanship between GMs?
Vegas will also receive a conditional fifth-round pick as part of the deal, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Haula missed the final 67 regular-season games and all seven of the Golden Knights' playoff contests this spring due to a knee injury suffered in November.
He's under contract for one more campaign at a cap hit of $2.75 million, according to CapFriendly.
The 28-year-old notched 29 goals and 55 points with Vegas in 2017-18 before serving as the team's second-line center during its improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Golden Knights claimed Haula from the Minnesota Wild in the 2017 expansion draft.
Roy, a 22-year-old center, spent most of the 2018-19 campaign with the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. He tallied 17 goals and 36 regular-season points for the Checkers before adding 15 points in 19 postseason games as Charlotte captured the Calder Cup.
Luongo never seemed to pass on an opportunity to poke fun at his battle for the crease with Cory Schneider in Vancouver during their time with the Vancouver Canucks, and even long afterward.
Can't wait!!! “@NHL: #Canucks fans, are you ready to see Cory Schneider as No. 1 in net? #hockeyisback”
We saved the best for last, and this one really doesn't require much explaining. Here's Luongo showing off his Photoshop skills and channeling Kim Kardashian:
Let me tell ya.... Wasn't easy holding that stick there with all that oil on...... pic.twitter.com/eV0gHgXLOQ
Duchene posted a point per game in the playoffs after collecting 12 over 23 regular-season contests with the Blue Jackets, the team that landed him from the Ottawa Senators before February's trade deadline.
The 28-year-old totaled 31 goals and 70 points across 73 games during the 2018-19 season.
He's coming off the final campaign of a five-year, $30-million pact inked while a member of the Colorado Avalanche in summer 2013.
