Golden Knights’ Robin Lehner discusses bankruptcy case

After not reporting to Vegas Golden Knights camp for his physical this season, Robin Lehner gave an update about his his life in a media interview on Friday.

The goaltender discussed his bankruptcy case with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Lehner and his wife, Donya, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy two years ago, according to a previous report by the newspaper, and are said to owe creditors more than $27 million. Court documents seen by the newspaper in October allege Lehner no longer was responding to lawyers.

“I don’t need sympathy or anything; screw that,” he told the newspaper this week. “Bring up something that’s true and I can take it like a man. But everything is fake. No one has any idea what has happened to my family and my life after a lot of these things, and a lot of, obviously, people will see in the future what actually happened.

“But this is portraying me like I go AWOL and don’t answer anyone.”

Lehner told the newspaper after he no longer could keep paying his former lawyer, conversations between the two sides were halted.

“But unfortunately, different circumstances … will come out in the future, and people can judge me about that. I could not keep paying,” Lehner said. “And when I couldn’t keep paying, well, let’s just lie to the court and now the (news)papers are saying this and it looks great for me (as) a father.”

Lehner declined to comment to the newspaper on whether he felt his playing career was over. He last played in April 2022.

He said he has gone through some personal problems that he was not ready to divulge.

“But it was a very tough time, for that, I blame myself and I’m not going to say it’s everyone else’s fault, but the media exploded it,” Lehner said. “I’ve been trying to bounce back ever since.”

Before the 2018-19 season began, Lehner penned a letter in The Athletic where he opened up about his harrowing battle with bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and drug and alcohol addiction before finally deciding to seek help.

He received the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2019, given to a player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the game

Lehner’s salary no longer counts against the salary cap for the Golden Knights after an agreement was reached between the NHL and its players’ association in October.