Latest roster move from Golden Knights sheds light on goaltending situation
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
Days before free agency opens on July 1, the Vegas Golden Knights have made an important decision regarding the future of their goaltending.
On Sunday night, Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon announced that the team had agreed to a three-year contract extension with goaltender Carl Lindbom.
The deal will keep Lindbom in Vegas until 2029 and carry a $900,000 annual cap hit.
The 23-year-old Swedish netminder has continued to impress as a seventh-round selection of the Golden Knights in 2021, and this past season was the most important in his development yet. On Oct. 26, 2025, Lindbom made his NHL debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It would be the first of eight starts at the NHL level for Lindbom that season, and he would get his first win in the NHL against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 29, 2025.
Back with Vegas’ AHL affiliate Henderson Silver Knights, Lindbom put up top-five numbers in the league with a 2.16 goals against average, a .926 save percentage and 24 victories.
During Henderson’s impressive second-half run, Lindbom would go 18-0-2 in 21 appearances with a .923 save percentage and a 2.24 GAA to push the Silver Knights to the second seed of the Pacific Division.
Lindbom has been a bright spot for Ryan Craig’s team over the past couple of seasons, and his extension puts him on the path towards reuniting with his head coach at the NHL level.
The move sheds some light on a murky goaltending situation for Vegas heading into the 2026-27 season. Carter Hart enters the year as the presumed starter, while Adin Hill has found himself as the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason. Akira Schmid also plays a role in the conversation, but he is, like Lindbom, a restricted free agent.
While the situation in net is still going to take some time to sort out, Lindbom’s extension guarantees that he will figure into the long-term equation for the defending Western Conference champions.
