Andrei Vasilevskiy is no doubt one of the premier goaltenders in the entire National Hockey League. In order to earn that elite ranking, Vasy needed to make a lot of dangerous saves. During the 2024-2025, he made enough saves to earn himself the position of being a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, given annually to the season’s best goaltender as per NHL.com.
Alongside Vasilevskiy, NHL.com lists Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings as the fellow finalists.
For any hockey team, the goalie is the last line of defense. The only thing separating one’s team from a devastating loss at the end of the day is the goalie. Thankfully, for Tampa Bay Lightning fans, Vasilevskiy has provided solid goaltending. So much so that NHL.com has Andrei Vasilevskiy possessing one Vezina trophy, two Stanley cups, and even one Conn Smyth trophy. No matter what lies ahead of him, Vasilevskiy ensures to put 100% of his effort into each and every single game he plays.
Speaking of 100% effort in every game he plays, this is best shown through his season stats. During the 2024-2025 NHL regular season, NHL.com records Vasilevskiy, as having a 0.921 save percentage, 38 wins, in only 63 games. Due to his outstanding effort, NHL.com additionally shows the Lightning were able to finish second in the Atlantic division. A team needs a hot goalie during the regular season in order to even have a chance at making the playoffs. Even if a team has a great defense, not having a consistent goaltender can cost a team a chance at fighting for the Stanley Cup. Vasilevskiy has managed to steal wins from opponents, bail the Lightning out of a tough game, and just simply dominate in the crease. Without Vasilevskiy, there is no way the Lightning would have been able to accomplish their spectacular back-to-back championship run.
Already Vasilevskiy has proved himself to be one of the greatest goaltenders the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise has ever seen. Even with as great as Vasilevskiy is, the NHL will not simply hand him the best trophy. This season has been filled with remarkable goaltenders such as Connor Hellebuyck and Darcy Kemper. With each goalie showing they deserve to win the Vezina trophy, it will surely come down to the wire. Look for Vasilevskiy to potentially win the Vezina trophy when the NHL awards inevitably come around.