Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy Out Indefinitely Following Back Surgery
With the NHL’s pre-season in full swing, the Tampa Bay Lightning have already been hit with a massive blow between the pipes, as they’ll begin the 2023-24 campaign without superstar goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Vasilevskiy, absent in the first week of training camp, underwent back surgery on Thursday and is expected to miss the first two months of the regular season, per a team release. The procedure was to address a lumbar disk herniation.
The back-to-back Stanley Cup champion (2020, 2021) and 2019 Vezina Trophy winner could miss at least 25 games, if not more, depending on how quickly he recovers.
The 29-year-old goaltender received an injection in August after first reporting the injury to Tampa Bay’s medical staff. But it only provided temporary relief, allowing the five-time All-Star to at least prepare for the upcoming campaign.
That discomfort returned during Vasilevskiy’s initial training camp practice on September 21st, causing him to depart the session early. Afterwards, he opted for a second injection, though it proved to be a short-term answer once again.
Lightning General manager Julien BriseBois said this current ailment is unrelated to the one his 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy goaltender endured toward the end of last season.
“The medical opinion was that he should go ahead and have surgery,” BriseBois told the Tampa Bay Times. “That was the only way to fully recover from the herniated disk.”
“We fully expect him to make a full recovery and for him to be back to being his old self again. It’s going to take some time here. … The doctor’s opinion was that based on how powerful an athlete Andrei is and how flexible an athlete he is that, if anything, those attributes will help him make a full recovery.”
Losing Vasilevskiy, of course, for an extended stretch is a major disappointment to Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes. It’s a daunting hurdle that won’t be easy to overcome, as there’s no replacing one of the sport’s top netminders.
While open to any external additions, BriseBois said he isn’t actively seeking a goaltender via trade or free agency. And it’s easy to understand why, given the Lightning’s current cap crunch.
Plus, the club expects Vasilevskiy to return at some point later this season. So it’s not like his $9.5 million cap hit can serve as long-term financial flexibility.
As a result, Tampa Bay’s staff will look to the trio of Jonas Johansson, Matt Tomkins and Hugo Alnefelt to compete for the starting role throughout the pre-season. Johansson, who posted a 2.33 GAA and .920 SV% in 26 games with the Colorado Avalanche’s AHL affiliate last season, appears to be the current favourite.
“We brought those goaltenders … because we see potential in them,” BriseBois said. “We think they’re strong goaltenders right now. Obviously, no one is going to replace Andrei Vasilevskiy. He’s the best goaltender in the world. And we’re not going to go get a goaltender compared to him in the short term. But we think that the goaltenders that we have are able to get the job done and carry the load in the meantime.”
Whichever goaltender wins the No. 1 job will have large shoes to fill, as Vasilevskiy has been a pillar for the Lightning franchise. He owns a 2.52 GAA and .919 SV% with 32 shutouts across 425 career games, earning 263 victories.
The 19th overall selection from 2012 is entering the fourth season of an eight-year, $76-million contract signed in 2019.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Michael Miller. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.