Amateur Lehner's amateur career began with the
J20 SuperElit division of the Swedish
Frölunda HC, with whom he had an opportunity to back up
Johan Holmqvist in the
Swedish Hockey League (SHL) if he could impress in the under-20 team. In 22 games with Frölunda during the 2008–09 season, Lehner had a 3.05
goals against average and a .916
save percentage. Although he was offered the position backing up Holmqvist for the 2009–10 SHL season, Lehner had already contemplated quitting ice hockey after extra
blood vessels in his
hamstring caused him acute pain on the ice. He was only inspired to continue after he and his father took a trip to New York to see
Henrik Lundqvist play for the
New York Rangers. That experience inspired Lehner to continue his career in a North American
junior ice hockey program. Coming off of his Swedish junior season, the
NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Lehner the top European goaltender available in the
2009 NHL entry draft. The
Ottawa Senators, who had acquired an additional second-round draft pick in a larger goaltending trade with the
Columbus Blue Jackets, used that extra pick to select Lehner 46th overall in the 2009 draft. More immediately, the
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the
Ontario Hockey League (OHL) selected Lehner ninth overall in the 2009
CHL Import Draft, and he moved to Ontario to join the team for their
2009–10 season. Despite missing time in November after contracting the
H1N1 influenza virus during the
2009 swine flu pandemic, Lehner's one season with Sault Ste. Marie was a success, with a 27–13–3 record, 2.88
GAA, and .918 save percentage. His five OHL
shutouts were also a league record, shared with
Chris Carrozzi and
Patrick Killeen, breaking
Ray Emery's four-shutout season in
2001–02.
Professional Ottawa Senators (2010–2015) in 2011 Upon the conclusion of the Greyhounds' season, Lehner signed a three-year,
entry-level contract with the Senators, and he closed out the
2009–10 hockey season with the
Binghamton Senators, Ottawa's
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. He made his professional ice hockey debut on 9 April 2010, making 21 saves in a 6–5 victory over the
Syracuse Crunch. He also won his only other start with Binghamton that year, making 31 saves in a 3–1 defeat of the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Although he was scheduled to open the season in Binghamton, injuries to both Ottawa's starting goaltender
Pascal Leclaire and top prospect
Mike Brodeur forced the Senators to call Lehner up to the NHL as a backup for
Brian Elliott. He made his NHL debut on 16 October 2010, stopping all three shots he faced in the five minutes at the start of the third period during which Elliott needed to repair his broken skate blade. Only 19 years old at the time, Lehner became both the youngest goaltender in Senators history and the youngest Swedish goaltender to appear in an NHL game in his debut. Lehner returned to Binghamton on 1 November and remained there until 12 January 2011, when he was once again called to fill in for an injured Leclaire. He made his first NHL start the next day, taking the win with 20 saves in a 6–4 victory over the
New York Islanders and breaking a six-game losing streak for Ottawa. While Lehner only spent eight games in Ottawa, he spent an additional 22 in Binghamton, where he went 10–8–2 with a 2.70 GAA as a backup for
Barry Brust. Brust started the first four games of Binghamton's 2011 postseason run, but after falling 3–1 in a seven-game series against the
Manchester Monarchs, he was pulled in favour of Lehner, who completed the 4–3 series comeback and carried them through to the next playoff round. With a 14–4 record, 2.10 GAA, .939 save percentage, and three shutouts in 19 postseason appearances, Lehner spent most of the season in Binghamton, with a few emergency call-ups to the NHL. First, he was promoted at the end of October to replace an injured
Alex Auld, making one appearance in a win over the
Toronto Maple Leafs before being sent down again on 4 November. Lehner expected a longer call-up on 23 February after starter
Craig Anderson slashed his hand open in a cooking incident, an injury that required surgery and extended recovery time, but he was sent back down on 5 March to allow
Ben Bishop a chance to skate in the NHL. In the midst of this second call-up, Lehner received his first NHL shutout, stopping all 32 shots against him in a 1–0 defeat of the
Boston Bruins. That season, he played five games in Ottawa, going 3–2–0 in the process, He finished the year with a 3.26 GAA and .907 save percentage, but was overshadowed by teammate
Mike McKenna's AHL presence. There, he participated in the
AHL All-Star Classic, goaltending for the Eastern Conference team in their 7–6 loss to the West By the time that the lockout ended in January, Lehner was second among AHL goaltenders with a 0.945 save percentage, and was third in the league with a 1.90 GAA. He expected that he would return to Ottawa when the NHL season picked back up, but after Anderson impressed his coaches in training camp, Lehner was sent back down to Binghamton, as unlike other backup Ben Bishop, he would not have to clear
waivers before returning to the AHL. Ottawa faced a number of injuries within the first month of the season, however, and Lehner was called up on 22 February when Anderson sprained his right ankle. In 12 NHL starts during the lockout-protracted season, Lehner had a .936 save percentage and a 2.20 GAA, his impact on the ice limited only by Anderson's presence. He also appeared in 31 AHL games, during which he had a .938 save percentage and a 2.12 GAA. Lehner also made his first NHL postseason appearance in Game 2 of the
2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals, where he and Anderson were on the receiving end of a
Sidney Crosby hat-trick in a 4–3 defeat to the
Pittsburgh Penguins. Lehner opened a season in the NHL for the first time in , serving as a full-time backup for Anderson. When Anderson was sidelined with a neck injury at the start of November. Lehner delivered three wins in his absence, posting a 1.33 GAA and .958 save percentage and taking home the
First Star of the Week for the week ending 11 November. Anderson's poor performance upon his return to the lineup led to calls that he be replaced with Lehner as the new starting goaltender, but Lehner did not receive an opportunity to take over again until March, when Anderson suffered a shoulder injury. Not receiving regular playing time made it difficult for Lehner to adjust to the starting role: between Anderson's two injuries, Lehner played in only 18 games. In the 36 games that Lehner did play during the 2013–14 season, he went 12–15–6 compared to Anderson's 25–16–8, but their other metrics were comparable: Lehner had a GAA of 3.06 compared to 3.00 for Anderson, while his .913 save percentage was only .002 higher than Anderson's. The following month, Anderson also signed a contract extension, quelling rumours that the Senators planned to replace him with Lehner within two years. They received equal playing time through the first 10 games of the season, but beginning in November, Anderson received more starting time, relegating Lehner back into a backup role. The incident effectively ended Lehner's season, as he continued to experience concussion symptoms for the next five months, well into the offseason. While he had already had difficulties with
alcohol abuse, the effects of the concussion exacerbated Lehner's drinking problem, which would follow him for the next three years. For the 25 games in which he saw action before the concussion, Lehner was 9–12–3 with a 3.02 GAA and a .905 save percentage. Ottawa used their new draft pick that night to select
Colin White. While facing his old team in the Sabres' season opener on 8 October, Lehner was injured in the second period and needed to be carried off the ice. Medical tests revealed that he had sprained his right ankle and would miss anywhere from six to ten weeks of game time. In the interim,
Chad Johnson was promoted to starting goaltender, while
Nathan Lieuwen was called up from the AHL. Lehner returned on 16 January 2016, making 27 saves in a 4–1 loss to the Boston Bruins. His third career shutout and first with Buffalo came on 19 February, when Lehner stopped all 38 shots in a 4–0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the third period of his shutout game, Lehner was involved in a
fight that began when Columbus forward
Boone Jenner delivered a hit on Buffalo defenceman
Zach Bogosian. Engaging primarily with the Blue Jackets'
Jack Johnson, Lehner received two minor penalties, one for
roughing and another for leaving the goaltending crease. Lehner's ankle continued to bother him even after he was reinstated from the injured list, and he underwent a season-ending surgery for the injury on 30 March. Limited to only 21 games, Lehner went 5–9–5 with a .924 save percentage and a 2.47 GAA during his first season with Buffalo. During the 2016 free agent signing period, Buffalo acquired
Anders Nilsson from the
St. Louis Blues as a backup for Lehner during the season. That same offseason, Lehner took up mixed martial arts in order to lose weight and improve his speed on the ice. Although Lehner had a .914 save percentage and 2.66 GAA in November, poor offence from Buffalo meant that the goaltender was 1–6–3 in that ten-game stretch, and fans began calling for Nilsson to receive more playing time. His frustration mounted as the season progressed, and following a 4–2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February, Lehner lashed out at his teammates, saying that their style of play was "disrespectful", particularly towards coach
Dan Bylsma, who "is drawing it up there, coming up with good game plans and we do the exact opposite". Around the time of the outburst, Lehner had a 2.47 GAA and was third among NHL starting goaltenders with a .926 save percentage, but was only 17–16–6 for the season. That March, Lehner made his 48th season appearance as a goaltender, breaking his previous record, set in the OHL, of appearances in one season. While Buffalo finished in last place in the
Atlantic Division with a 33–37–12 record, Lehner went 23–26–8 for the season with a 2.68 GAA and a .920 save percentage. He was also third in the NHL with 1,758 saves and set career highs with 59 games played, 23 wins, and two shutouts. A
restricted free agent following the 2016–17 season, Lehner signed a one-year, $4 million contract extension with Buffalo on 25 July 2017. Despite rumours that Lehner would be moved at the NHL
trading deadline that February, the only move made by
general manager Jason Botterill was to send
Evander Kane to the
San Jose Sharks. Lehner, meanwhile, rebuked rumours that he had requested a trade, telling reporters, "I have no reason not to want to be here", even despite the team's struggles. By the end of the season, the Sabres, already well out of playoff contention, were carrying three goaltenders: Lehner, Johnson, and
Linus Ullmark, who was called up to gain some NHL experience before returning to the
Rochester Americans for a potential AHL playoff bid. The move coincided with a hip injury that forced Buffalo to shut Lehner down for the season at the end of March. Lehner suddenly left his last game with Buffalo on 29 March with what was later revealed to be a
panic attack. At the time, he had been suffering from
substance abuse issues caused by undiagnosed mental illness, and shortly after suffering the on-ice panic attack, Lehner was sent to a
drug rehabilitation facility to recover. He went 14–26–9 for the season, with a 3.01 GAA and .908 save percentage. On 22 June 2018, the Sabres opted not to give Lehner a
qualifying offer, leaving him an
unrestricted free agent. In his season debut on 8 October, Lehner stopped all 35 shots he faced from the San Jose Sharks, becoming the first Islanders goaltender to record a shutout in their first game for the team. While Lehner's openness about his history of addiction made him a fan favorite on Long Island, he also put together the best year of his career up until that point, going 25–13–5 with a 2.13 GAA, .930 save percentage, and six shutouts. At the end of the regular season, Lehner and Greiss won the
William M. Jennings Trophy, given to the goaltending staff of the NHL team that allows the fewest regular-season goals. The Islanders dropped from allowing 296 goals in the 2017–18 season to only 196 in 2018–19. Lehner was also a finalist for the
Vezina Trophy, given to the best goaltender in the NHL, and won the
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded for "perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey". When the trophy arrived in August, it mistakenly listed Lehner as a member of the New York Rangers rather than the Islanders. In the
2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, Lehner was instrumental in the Islanders' first-round sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He stopped 130 shots in 136 attempts during the four-game series, including 32 saves in New York's 3–1 elimination game victory. He was less effective during the second round, when the Islanders faced the Carolina Hurricanes. After dropping the first three games in that series, coach
Barry Trotz allowed Lehner to start in Game 4, but pulled him in favour of Greiss after Lehner allowed three goals in the first 25 minutes of the game. The Hurricanes took the game 5–2 to complete the sweep and eliminate the Islanders from the playoffs.
Chicago Blackhawks (2019–2020) When the window opened on 23 June 2019 for impending unrestricted free agents to begin courting offers from other teams, Lehner told
Newsday that he planned to re-sign with the Islanders and had no interest in speaking to representatives from other teams. That week, the Islanders offered Lehner a two-year contract, but when the goaltender expressed his desire to find a longer-term deal, negotiations fell through. Within hours of the free agency period opening at 12p.m. (
ET) on 1 July, Lehner signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the
Chicago Blackhawks. New York, meanwhile, replaced Lehner with free agent
Semyon Varlamov, who they signed to a four-year, $20 million contract the same day. Rather than having Lehner back up
Corey Crawford or unseat him as Chicago's starting goaltender, head coach
Jeremy Colliton decided to
platoon the pair, giving both men roughly equal playing time. Although Lehner was adept in net during regulation, leading the league with regular save percentage by the end of November, he frequently struggled in
shootout situations. By 10 December, Lehner's career .510 shootout save percentage was the lowest of any goaltender in NHL history who had faced 40 or more shots, and he suggested that, should he start a game that turns into a shootout situation, Crawford take over goaltending duties for that portion of the game. On 29 December 2019, Lehner, who altered his goaltending technique and claimed to have been distracted by a story that teammate
Zack Smith told him beforehand, won his first shootout of the season, stopping two out of three shots from the Columbus Blue Jackets. After 15 January, Lehner found himself on the bench more frequently, and the accompanying downturn in his mood led to a downturn in his performance. In his last five starts, Lehner went only 1–3–1 with an .888 save percentage, and his teammates noticed that he became more withdrawn off the ice, a departure for the usually extroverted goaltender. In his 33 games with the Blackhawks, Lehner went 16–10–5 with a .918 save percentage and a 3.01 GAA.
Vegas Golden Knights (2020–2024) On 24 February 2020, Lehner was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for prospect
Mārtiņš Dzierkals; he was then immediately flipped to the
Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the
2020 NHL entry draft, with Toronto retaining a portion of his salary. Backing up
Marc-André Fleury, Lehner only had the opportunity to start three games for Vegas, during which he went 3–0–0 with a 1.67 GAA and .940 save percentage, before the
COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to prematurely suspend the 2019–20 season on 12 March 2020. When the NHL resumed play that July for the
2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, Lehner was one of 31 Golden Knights invited to join the team in Edmonton. Lehner effectively usurped Fleury's role as starting goaltender during the postseason, getting the nod in six of Vegas's eight qualifying and first-round playoff games. This decision led to some controversy when Fleury's
agent posted a picture on
Twitter of Fleury with a sword labelled "DeBoer" in his back, suggesting that coach
Peter DeBoer had stabbed his client in the back. Lehner's three shutouts against the
Vancouver Canucks during the Golden Knights' second-round playoff series, including a series-clinching 3–0 victory, impressed DeBoer enough to give him the nod for the Western Conference finals as well. There, Vegas fell to the
Dallas Stars in five games, with Lehner making 23 saves but taking the overtime loss in the final matchup. He went 9–7 in 16 postseason games for Vegas, posting a .917 save percentage and 1.99 GAA in the process. Lehner signed a five-year, $25 million contract extension with the Vegas Golden Knights on 3 October 2020. Lehner and Fleury were platooned for the start of the season, with neither party starting in consecutive games until Lehner suffered an upper body injury while playing against the
Los Angeles Kings on 7 February 2021. Lehner's extended absence prompted rumours that he was suffering from a relapse of the mental health or substance abuse issues that had previously hindered him, but when he returned to the lineup on 18 March, he clarified that he had only suffered a concussion and did not want to push himself to return before he was physically ready. Lehner had struggled in his first five starts before the concussion, going 2–1–1 with a 2.96 GAA and .890 save percentage, but he returned to form afterwards: between 19 March and 13 April, Lehner was 7–0–1 with a 1.86 GAA. At the end of the regular season, Fleury and Lehner took the William M. Jennings Trophy, allowing a combined 124 goals in 56 regular-season games. Lehner personally went 13–4–2 with a 2.29 GAA, .913 save percentage, and one shutout during the season. Fleury received the start in all seven games of the Golden Knights' first-round series against the
Minnesota Wild in the
2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, and Lehner was asked to start Game 1 of the second-round series in order to let Fleury rest. He allowed seven goals in a loss to the
Colorado Avalanche and did not start again until Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals, where he made 27 saves in the 2–1 overtime victory over the
Montreal Canadiens. Montreal defeated Vegas in six games, with Lehner allowing the series-winning overtime goal off the stick of
Artturi Lehkonen. When Fleury was unexpectedly traded to the Blackhawks on 28 July 2021, Lehner became the Golden Knights'
de facto starting goaltender for the season, a departure from the platoon role that he had taken ever since his time with the Islanders. With
Laurent Brossoit as his new backup, Lehner was asked to keep the Knights competitive through a season that began with defensive difficulties and injuries. Lehner's 2021–22 season was marked by several injuries of his own. He first sustained a lower-body injury on 19 December in the Golden Knights' game against the Islanders, returning on 6 January to make 18 saves in Vegas's 5–1 win over the
New York Rangers. He was sidelined again, this time with an upper-body injury, on 14 February. After missing five games, he earned another win by making 16 saves in a 3–1 victory over the
San Jose Sharks. One week later, after making 19 saves in a 2–1 loss to the
Philadelphia Flyers, Lehner was sent back to Vegas in the middle of the Golden Knights' road trip to undergo injury evaluation. He returned on 3 April, stopping 26 shots to win 3–2 against the
Vancouver Canucks. Broissoit was also injured during the season, and in the absence of both veterans, rookie
Logan Thompson received significant playing time for Vegas. After unconfirmed reports surfaced suggesting that Lehner required knee surgery, the Golden Knights released a statement on 25 April that he would instead miss the remainder of the season with shoulder surgery for the injury he sustained in February. He finished the season with a 23–17–2 record, 2.83 GAA, and .907 SV% in 44 games, including one shutout. On 11 August 2022, the Golden Knights announced that Lehner required hip surgery that would cause him to miss the entire NHL season. Entering the season, the Golden Knights announced that Lehner was out indefinitely, and would remain on long-term injured reserve to begin the season. Going into the season, the final year on his contract, Lehner failed to report to a medical exam that was required to remain on long-term injury reserve, giving Vegas the option to nullify his deal and cut him without paying any of the remaining salary from it. A subsequent agreement between the NHL and NHLPA determined that, while the Golden Knights would pay Lehner his $4.4 million salary for the season, it would not count against the team's salary cap. Vegas did not officially comment on the matter, thus ending any ties between Lehner and the franchise. == International play ==