Andrei Vasilevskiy isn’t pretending the Nikita Kucherov situation in Tampa Bay is easy to read. He’s following it closely, hoping it gets sorted out and that both sides land in a good place, but he also made it clear he doesn’t know every detail behind the reported breakdown in communication.
“I mean, it was a surprise for all of us…”
“Anything is possible nowadays,” Vasilevskiy said. “I’m not familiar with all the details of what’s going on between the two sides.
I understand both parts of that deal and I don’t want to get too much involved. I just hope that at the end of the day they will figure it out and both parties will be happy.”
That uncertainty naturally leads to the bigger question: could something similar happen with Vasilevskiy when his own contract picture gets serious? He’s hoping not, and his preference is obvious.
“Obviously my goal is to stay here. If I retire here, in this city, it will be my second biggest accomplishment after the Stanley Cup.
Because it’s like, how many goalies played for one team ever? Only a few.
That’s definitely one of my biggest accomplishments. It’s my goal for sure to stay with this team.”
Vasilevskiy still has one more season left on his current deal after this one, which means the Lightning are looking at a major decision down the road. If the club decides to hold the line financially, there will be no shortage of teams willing to come hard with massive offers. But Vasilevskiy’s comments suggested that staying in Tampa Bay matters to him more than simply chasing the biggest number.
He didn’t exactly downplay the possibility of a monster payday, though.
“To be honest, I don’t know if I’m worth $25 million, so I think my contract won’t be as high,” Vasilevskiy said, laughing. “I mean, it’d be great if it will.”
For Vasilevskiy, the appeal goes beyond money and into something much rarer: spending an entire career in one uniform.
“I think it’s just so cool when you’re drafted and you play your full career for one organization,” Vasilevskiy said. “It says a lot about you as a person, as an athlete, obviously.
That means they feel you were such a big piece of that organization, of that team, that they basically, it’s stuck with you for 20 years. So, yeah, that’ll be something to me for sure; it will mean a lot.”
Steven Stamkos and now Kucherov.
In Other News...
Lightning Pull Off Road Comeback That Says Plenty About This Surge
The Lightning kept their surge rolling with a 4-3 overtime win in Minnesota, a result that fit the way this stretch has started to define them. Tampa Bay erased a two-goal deficit in the third period and found enough push late to turn a road game that looked headed the wrong way into two points, stretching its point streak to seven games.
Charle-Edouard DAstous helped fuel the rally by tying it in the third, and the comeback set the stage for Nikita Kucherov to finish it in overtime. For a team trying to build momentum on the road, this was the kind of win that says as much about resilience as it does about skill, and it leaves the Lightning with another reminder that their current run has real staying power. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Face A Brutal Road Test In Minnesota
The next stop on Tampa Bays trip brings a familiar kind of challenge, one that has not tended to go well for the Lightning in St. Paul. Minnesota has been a difficult building for them for years, and this matchup arrives with the Wild playing some of their best hockey at home while leaning on a defense that has made life hard on visiting teams. For Tampa Bay, it is another chance to see whether its top-end talent can overcome the kind of road environment that has tripped it up before.
The Lightning also come in needing a steadier effort away from home, where results have been harder to come by this season. Special teams could loom large, with both clubs bringing strong pieces to the ice and key players on each side capable of swinging the game in a hurry. For Tampa Bay, the bigger question is whether it can match Minnesotas pace and structure long enough to leave with points from a rink that has rarely been kind to it. [Read more 🡒]
Jakob Pelletier Keeps Delivering Despite Another Crunch Letdown
The Syracuse Crunch had another night where the result did not match the effort, falling 3-2 to the Hartford Wolf Pack in overtime at the Upstate Medical University Arena. Jakob Pelletier kept his recent surge rolling with a goal, and Lucas Mercuri added the other Syracuse tally, while Olivier Rodrigue turned aside 22 of 25 shots in a game that stayed tight from start to finish.
For the Lightning organization, Pelletiers production has become one of the more encouraging developments in Syracuse, even if the Crunch are still looking for the kind of finish that turns close games into points. Hartfords Callum Tung made 24 saves to get the win, leaving Syracuse with another frustrating one-goal loss and more proof that the offensive pieces are there, even if the payoff keeps slipping away late. [Read more 🡒]