NHL goaltender Robin Lehner has left former teammates concerned with a series of messages on X, in which the 33-year-old called his brain “broken” and expressed suicidal thoughts.
Lehner, who spent the 2018-19 season with the Islanders and produced perhaps the best season of his career, has been open in the past about his struggles with bipolar disorder.
And he has seriously worried fans and ex-teammates with his recent social media activity.
On December 13, he wrote: ‘Never had silence and my brain is now completely broken that there is no return. The chaos never ends and the fantasy and delusions that I prayed were a nightmare were unfortunately reality.”
He later added that he could not be with his family at Christmas and denied that he had any mental health problems.
“Everyone in the comments says I’m having a mental seizure,” the Vegas Golden Knights goaltender said. “Please save those comments when the truth comes out. Vegas has helped me dig up stories and lawsuits for seasons. Man, I hate myself more than anyone. F*** all of you who think this is fantasy and if it is then be happy about it. Unfortunately that is not the case. All I have to think about now is my children.
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner has expressed concern about his ex-Islanders teammates
Lehner played for the Islanders during the 2018-19 season and enjoyed perhaps the best year of his career
In the wake of these comments, several of Lehner’s ex-Islanders teammates expressed their concerns to the New York Post.
“We had such a great time with Robin when he was here on the island,” Anders Lee told The Post. “Especially here for us and for him. I only hope the best for him and his family. You can kind of decipher that they are going through a tough time. I just want to think about them carefully. You just want to hear that he’s doing well.’
Matt Martin also called him “a great teammate” and wished him well.
“It’s hard to watch someone you’ve played with and care about go through what he’s going through. And we hope he’s doing well.”
Although Lehner is under contract with the Golden Knights, he has not played since the 2021-2022 season.
He failed to report to a physical to remain on ‘long-term injury reserve’. An agreement was reached between the NHL and the NHLPA that allowed Vegas to pay Lehner his season’s salary without it counting against the salary cap.
Lehner – who is also going through a bankruptcy case – has accused the Golden Knights of mistreating him, and also shared a alleged list of the medications he had to take while in the NFL.
He also claimed he had been extorted.
The Islanders’ Anders Lee has expressed concern about former teammate Lehner
Lehner, who is 33 years old, has been open about his struggles with bipolar disorder
Meanwhile, he suggested that Islanders president Lou Lamoriello had reached out to help him, saying his time there gave him a “year of happiness in the nightmare that is my life.”
‘There was one hand that really helped me and tried to get me out of this situation. From the only organization that gave my family some hope and a new start,” he wrote.
“We all know who this man is and he’s the same one who didn’t judge me and met me after all the other teams told me nothing but bad things and had the audacity to judge me after Buffalo told everyone I was in the rehab without my permission. But me and this beautiful man met for breakfast and talked about family.”
Previously, the Swedish goaltender pushed back on claims he was unavailable and expressed frustration over his lengthy return to the ice and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy battle.
“I don’t need any sympathy or anything; fuck that,” he said during an exclusive phone interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal.
“Bring up something that’s true, and I can handle it like a man. But everything is fake. No one has any idea what happened to my family and my life after a lot of these things, and a lot of people will obviously see in the future what really happened.”
“But this portrays me as if I’m missing and no one answers,” said Lehner, who did not tell the newspaper where he lived but said he is still in contact with family and loved ones.
Last year he filed for bankruptcy with debts of up to $50 million, with his troubles stemming from a $1.2 million purchase of exotic snakes that went seriously wrong.
For support, call Samaritans on 116123 in the UK or visit www.samaritans.org or www.thecalmzone.net/get-supportor call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988 in the US.