Golden Knights support Robin Lehner after Twitter comments

The aftershocks from Robin Lehner’s comments on Twitter last weekend continued to rumble through the NHL, with Flyers coach Alain Vigneault responding Monday to the Golden Knights goaltender.

In the Knights locker room, there was nothing but unwavering support for Lehner.

“Teammates, we always got our back, and it’s impressive to watch how much he cares about what he believes in,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “I’m proud of guys who speak up about things. It’s not easy to say that and be honest about it, and Robin’s done a great job with that.”

Lehner sent a series of tweets Saturday, defending Buffalo center Jack Eichel in his medical standoff with the Sabres and also accusing unnamed teams of giving employees prescription drugs to reduce anxiety and aid sleep on the road. He threatened to release a damaging story each day unless the league and NHL Players’ Association acted.

The league reached out to Lehner and is expected to schedule an interview to discuss his claims.

Lehner, who was removed after the second period of Thursday’s game at Salt Lake City for precautionary reasons, practiced Monday at City National Arena. He was not made available to the media afterward.

“I think with Robin, he’s probably the most vocal guy when it comes to mental health and supporting his teammates,” captain Mark Stone said. “He’s very talkative with us with the Eichel situation. I know he’s good friends with him, wants what’s best for him mentally. I’m not surprised with Robin kind of trying to help him out.”

In one of his follow-up tweets on Saturday, Lehner called Vigneault as a “dinosaur” who treated players like “robots” and claimed he had proof the longtime coach should be fired.

Lehner appeared to be insinuating that Vigneault and the Flyers were among the teams committing medical malpractice. Philadelphia general manager Chuck Fletcher denied any wrongdoing by the organization in a statement Sunday and Vigneault denied ever giving players prescription drugs Monday.

Lehner clarified to ESPN.com that he wasn’t accusing Vigneault of distributing prescription drugs to players. Rather, he believes the coach’s treatment of players is unacceptable.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon said he spoke to Fletcher about Lehner’s comments.

“Robin, as you know, is very passionate about advocating for players and affecting change in a positive way,” McCrimmon said. “I’ve spoken to Robin a number of times over the past couple of days. I’ve spoken to the National Hockey League. I know that Robin has spoken to the players association. I believe there’ll be a good discussion that takes place centered around Robin’s concerns.”

Vigneault, 60, has coached 18 seasons in the NHL with the Flyers, Rangers, Canucks and Canadiens. He won the Jack Adams Award as the coach of the year in 2007 and reached the Stanley Cup Final with New York and Vancouver.

Lehner hasn’t played for Vigneault during his career but was critical of the coach’s role in the development of Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, who struggled last season after a breaking through in 2019-20.

“I don’t know the young man,” Vigneault said of Lehner. “I consider myself experienced. Dinosaur? You could say with experience you become a dinosaur maybe. But I do know I’ve been coaching a few years, and I am tough. I am demanding. But I care about my players. I wanted their best.

“Through the years probably there’s some guys that have liked me and some other guys maybe a little bit less. But I’ve done it with the best intention, with respect.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.