Andrei Vasilevskiy injury: Lightning goalie to miss first two months of season after undergoing back surgery

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will miss the first two months of the season after undergoing back surgery, the team confirmed Thursday. The news was first reported by NHL Network’s Kevin Weekes.

This would put Vasilevskiy’s timeline for a return at around two months at the earliest. The Lightning open up the 2023-24 NHL regular season against the Nashville Predators at home on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Let’s go over the betting and fantasy hockey impact of Vasi’s injury.

First, let’s look at the Bolts’ roster. Behind Vasilevskiy on the depth chart there’s 28-year-old Jonas Jonhansson, who has made 35 career NHL starts since 2019. That’s with stints with the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche. In no way, shape or form is Johansson a No. 1 goalie in the NHL. Expect the Lightning to make a move, either via trade or signing a veteran free agent goalie to bridge the gap until Vasilevskiy can return. That may not be until early or mid-December, given this timeline.

Tampa Bay was already in the red in terms of cap space. Once the season begins and D Brent Seabrook is placed on LTIR, the team will basically be capped out. Vasilevskiy’s salary is $9.5 million per season, so that would go on injured reserve. It would clear some room in the short term to add another goaltender to the roster.

After winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, the Lightning fell to the Avalanche in the Cup in 2021-22, then lost in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs last season in six games. The roster is in flux and it appears a decline is coming with the Atlantic Division becoming more and more competitive. The Lightning are +2000 to win the Cup this season and odds to win the ATL division are currently down after this news. Same goes for Tampa Bay’s odds to make the postseason. With this injury and an already competitive East, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Bolts miss the playoffs.

For fantasy hockey, if you have Vasilevskiy in a dynasty or keeper league, hopefully you have a solid backup who can help ease the pain of loss. You’ll likely want to wait and see if the Bolts bring in a veteran goalie. Whoever that is will be worth adding. You can also explore a trade before the season. If you’re fantasy hockey draft is coming up, be sure to steer clear of Vasilevskiy in the early rounds. He isn’t a bad stash candidate on IR if he falls down the board. The Lightning may not be very good but that shouldn’t hinder Vasilevskiy’s value as a fantasy goalie much. He’s a big reason why Tampa Bay has sustained success for so long.