After winning his first Vezina Trophy, the Tampa Bay Lightning have extended their number one goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for eight more seasons.
TAMPA BAY – With one year remaining on his last contract, Andrei Vasilevsky will head into the 2019-2020 season with one big monkey off his back. Vasilevskiy followed in the footsteps of Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman by locking up a long term extension to stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
While all eyes this off-season have been fixed upon when restricted free agent Brayden Point will sign his new deal, Lightning general manager Julian BriseBois locked up his franchise goalie a year early.
Some will say the AAV (average annual value) was a bit high for a goalie. However, it’s not the highest. Sergei Bobrovsky signed with the Florida Panthers this off-season, netting $10 million AAV, while Montreal Canadians netminder Carey Price clocks in with the highest at $10.5 million a year.
One could argue Vasilevskiy’s $9.5 AAV is a high, but when you consider is production and the fact he just one what could be the first of a few Vezina trophies, $9.5 AAV isn’t bad. Especially when you consider the Lightning have kept their core group together on mostly very team friendly deals.
With their core locked up mostly for the next few years one could say some moves may be made either this season or next off-season to free up more space. One thing is for sure, Vasilevskiy is relieved that he didn’t have to enter the season with the last year of his contract weighing on him.
Check below for the media availability with Vasilevskiy.
