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Tampa Bay Lightning: Five reasons for concern in 2023-24

By Benjamin Henderson

Oct 11, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper watches his players during the second period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper watches his players during the second period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports /
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Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports /

Tampa Bay Lightning Reasons For Concern: Backup Goalie

As we referenced in our reasons for hope piece, the Lightning still has Andrei Vasilevskiy heading into the season. While his numbers weren’t up to his usual standard in 2022-23, he was still a top-10 goalie in the NHL last season.

But even the Big Cat needs a rest every now and again, and this is where things get dicey for Tampa.

The backup this season will either be Hugo Alnefelt or Jonas Johansson. Neither screams NHL-ready backup.

Alnefelt is 22 years old and had a .904 save percentage with Syracuse last season.

Johansson was acquired as a free agent on a two-way contract in the offseason. He has 35 career NHL starts with a .886 save percentage.

Ideally, Tampa would be able to keep Vasilevskiy to 55 starts and keep him fresh for the playoffs.

But if neither Alnefelt nor Johansson can elicit confidence, Vasilevskiy might be forced into action 65 times to keep Tampa competitive.

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