Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy will miss the first two months of the 2023-24 season after undergoing successful back surgery, the team announced on Thursday [28 September].
The Russian, who had been mainly absent through the first week of training camp in Florida, went under the knife for a microdiscectomy to address a lumbar disc herniation and is expected to miss the first eight to ten weeks of the campaign.
Vasilevskiy’s injury raises a number of questions for general manager Julien BriseBois, who will be forced to navigate a hellishly competitive Atlantic Division campaign without his star netminder.
What is the nature of Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy’s back injury?
Speculation about Vasilevskiy’s health has been rife this preseason, with head coach Jon Cooper telling reporters that his goaltender was “wrestling with some things physically” last week, adding that he didn’t expect Vasilevskiy to miss an extended period of time.
“He’s on his own program, so I can’t really talk about that,” Lightning defenceman Mikhail Sergachev said on Friday. “But you know, obviously it’s nice to see him. He was making some saves and working through it, so hopefully he’s going to get better and get back on the ice soon because he’s the best player on our team.”
Vasilevskiy was unable to play through the injury and therefore turned to surgical options to resolve his herniated disc, which is known to cause pain in the lower back.
The 29-year-old is expected to start the season on the long-term injury reserve list, providing $9.5 million of temporary salary cap relief to the Lightning.
How does Andrei Vasilevskiy’s injury affect the Tampa Bay Lightning’s goalie depth?
Vasilevskiy has been the centrepiece of Tampa Bay’s recent success, backstopping the Lightning to two Stanley Cups.
The Tyumen-born netminder’s injury creates a massive headache for BriseBois, whose netminding depth chart has been decimated in the second week of preseason.
Aside from two-time NHL All-Star Vasilevskiy, the Lightning have Jonas Johansson, Hugo Alnefelt, and Matt Tomkins signed to professional contracts.
Johansson is a career backup in North America, maxing out at nine appearances and an .855 save percentage with the Colorado Avalanche in 2021-22.
Alnefelt, while highly rated in Tampa Bay, approaches the new season with just one major league appearance to his name, having recorded a .904 save percentage in 33 American Hockey League appearances last term.
Tomkins, 29, has never appeared in the NHL, but upheld a .910 save percentage through a 65-game stint in the Swedish Hockey League.
With that in mind, the Lightning are unlikely to be happy with their current goaltending options.
Will the Tampa Bay Lightning turn to the market for a new starting netminder?
BriseBois will also struggle to find an external solution to his netminding disaster.
With the start of the season just under two weeks away, most NHL-calibre goaltenders are already under contract around the league.
Jaroslav Halak, who turned 38 in May, is currently unsigned and could do a solid enough job for the Lightning.
The Slovak netminder made 25 appearances for the New York Rangers last season, recording a .903 save percentage as Igor Shesterkin’s reserve.
Trading with the Montreal Canadiens could be another option for BriseBois, who will see one of Jake Allen or Samuel Montembeault as worthy stop-gap solutions for his squad.
Ultimately, though, options are thin on the ground for the Lightning, who will limp through the first two months of the season without Vasilevskiy between the pipes.
The Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, and Buffalo Sabres – who missed out on playoff qualification last term – will hope to take advantage in the race to make the postseason this time around.
