Happy Birthday to The Big Cat, Andrei Vasilevskiy! The Tampa Bay Lightning netminder turned 29 today, which on one hand doesn’t seem that old, but on the other seems like further proof of the inevitable march of time. He’s been in our lives for over a decade now, ever since the Bolts drafted him with the 19th overall pick back in 2012, and a constant in the Lightning net since taking the reigns from Ben Bishop during the 2016-17 season.
Vasilevskiy made his debut a few years before that, stopping 23 of 24 shots from the Philadelphia Flyers in a 3-1 road win on December 16th, 2014 – a game I was lucky enough to attend.
What excellent camera work!
Since then, all he’s done is won 262 more regular season games, a Vezina Trophy, 2 Stanley Cups, and a Conn Smythe, and laying claim as the best goaltender of his generation. He also owns just about every goaltending record in the Lightning media guide (Bishop has him on save percentage and goals against). What were you doing during your 20s? Probably not that.
Now entering the middle stage of his career, where the athleticism might not be what it was, but the knowledge base is much deeper, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he will be in net for another decade. The Lightning have him under contract for at least another five seasons, and with his work ethic and preparation, it’s easy still seeing him as a bona fide number one starter when the contract ends.
Last season was really his first average season in quite a long time and he will be hoping to bounce back (and the team will be counting on it) in 2023-24. For the last four seasons, Vasilevskiy has been the team’s bellwether. He sets the direction and the team follows. Hopefully, the path he blazes next season is back to the Stanley Cup Final.
Enjoy your day!
Lightning / NHL News
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