Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to miss 8-10 weeks following back surgery
A bombshell tweet on Thursday announced that Tampa Bay Lightning franchise goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy had undergone a successful microdiscectomy on a lumbar back herniation. He is expected to make a full recovery in 8-10 weeks.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy underwent a successful microdiscectomy this morning to address a lumbar disc herniation.
Vasilevskiy is expected to miss approximately the first two months of the regular season.https://t.co/DCdJqmen3C
Vasilevskiy has been the backbone of the Lightning for several seasons and played a pivotal role in helping them secure back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2019-20 and 2020-21, where he was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner. He helped the team reach a third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in 2021-22, where the Lightning found themselves ultimately dethroned by the Colorado Avalanche.
During the 2022-23 campaign, the 29-year-old netminder posted a 34-22-4 record with 2.65 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in 60 appearances. It was evident throughout the season and playoffs that the long seasons and runs to the Stanley Cup Finals were wearing and tearing him down. The Toronto Maple Leafs eliminated the Lightning in the first round of the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and not long after, Vasilevskiy took to the media to discuss the season. “Probably the first 30-35 games felt as usual, but then just me & my body probably weren’t on the same page. All those small injuries came out at the same time. My mistake was that I didn’t really pay attention to recovery. I kind of kept pushing myself to the limit.” In 10 seasons and 425 games with the Lightning, Vasilevksiy has a career .919 save percentage and a 263-123-28 record.
With Vasilevskiy now out for the start of the season, the Lightning now look to backup goaltender Jonas Johansson. Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois signed Johansson to a two-year, one-way NHL contract worth $775k annually. Johansson spent most of the 2022-23 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Colorado Eagles. And he excelled; Johansson posted a .920 save percentage in 26 games. The Lightning will also have to call upon prospect goaltender Hugo Alnefelt from the Syracuse Crunch to fulfill the backup role unless BriseBois has plans to execute a trade to find a more suitable replacement for the time being.