The Vegas Golden Knights are working on a deal to sign Stanley Cup champion backstop Adin Hill to a two-year extension with an AAV in the $4.9 million range, according to SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Some other stuff today: sounds like Stanley Cup champion Adin Hill is looking at an extension in Vegas around the 2x$4.9M range. Nothing official yet, though.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 25, 2023
Hill is on an expiring contract – signed in 2021 with San Jose – that carried an AAV of $2.175 million.
Hill came in for the injured Laurent Brossoit in Game 3 of Vegas’ second-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers and never looked back. He finished the postseason with an 11-4 record as well as a 2.17 goals-against average and NHL-best .932 save percentage with two shutouts.
His 12.4 goals saved above average en route to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history was tops among all playoff goalies, and he finished second behind Sergei Bobrovsky with 13.13 goals saved above expected, according to Evolving-Hockey.
Hill became the first goalie in NHL history to win 10 playoff games without playing in the first round. He made countless timely saves, most notably his paddle stop on Nick Cousins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Adin Hill save heard around the world. 🌏 #StanleyCup
(via IG/nhleurope) pic.twitter.com/j4qYikKoTU
— NHL (@NHL) June 5, 2023
The fan favorite was worthy of Conn Smythe consideration for his spectacular play, which was pivotal to the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup run. He earned legendary status along the way, putting him in an excellent position heading into the offseason.
However, the reported AAV of around $4.9 million is surprisingly steep, especially considering Vegas’ situation in net.
Hill was strong during the regular season, going 16-7-1 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 25 starts, but he’d likely share the crease with Logan Thompson once again next season and may not be the true No. 1 starter.
Plus, that doesn’t even take Robin Lehner into consideration. Lehner missed all of 2022-23 after undergoing hip surgery but has two years remaining on his contract carrying an AAV of $5 million.
The Golden Knights currently have four goaltenders on their active roster, though three – Hill, Brossoit and Jonathan Quick – are set to become unrestricted free agents. Thompson is signed for two more seasons at $766,667.
Perhaps a trade for Lehner is in the works, or it’s possible his injury status is murky enough that the Golden Knights don’t want to lose Hill as they look to go back-to-back next season.
The Golden Knights have roughly $3.46 million of cap space if Lehner does not stay on long-term injured reserve, per Cap Friendly, though teams are allowed to spend 10 percent above the upper limit during the offseason.
Given Vegas’ salary cap constraints, this deal likely would take an Ivan Barbashev extension off the table. The Golden Knights also have three restricted free agents, including Brett Howden, Pavel Dorofeyev and Brayden Pachal.
This story will be updated.