Get Vasy In The Net!

[TBLightning1993]

I don't know if it's just me, but I want to see a lot more Andrei Vasilevskiy this coming season. It's not often a team can feel as comfortable with their backup goalie in the net but I have a lot of confidence in Vasy.

 

According to Jon Cooper, there's a bit of a battle going on for the net between Bishop and Vasy. Cooper plans on letting both players get a decent amount of time keeping the other team off the board next season. Vasy is sporting a career .918 save percentage which is middle of the road for goalies but this guy is 20.

 

Bishop and the Lightning defense was having a terrible night against the Rangers in the Eastern Finals and Cooper pulled Bish after the Rangers put up their 5th of the night. Out of the gate, Steve Nash and other Rangers put a lot of pressure on Vasy but he held his own. He let a rebound get away from him and the Rangers ultimately put up their 6th, but what can you expect? This guy is young, doesn't see much time on the ice let alone on a stage like that.. For someone who can't even have a beer after a solid win, he defends the net like a champ.

 

The fact that he's 20 blows my mind. I'm young and this guy is younger than I am. If the Bolts put him out there more, he builds confidence and skills and can become a brick wall sitting in front of the net. With the Lightning's explosive offense, we could see a lot of blowouts in our near future.

 

I'm not saying pull Bishop. But if Vasy can build on his skills and get used to being the one we lean on when our defense isn't at it's best (don't call me crazy for this) Bishop could clear up a lot of cap space and the Bolts could look to build on defense, someone to be Victor Hedman's partner-in-crime. For now, Bishop is our go-to to win games but Vasy also sported a winning record last season in the 16 games he played. He's a rookie.

 

This is something to love about the Lightning. No matter what player, line or anything you choose to look at, the future is bright and promising. Thank you Yzerman for setting us up for years of success to come. On to the next season already!

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@TBLightning1993

 

Don't worry.

Andrei Vasilevskiy WILL be seeing some solid time in net this upcoming season.

 

When the Bolts traded away Evgeni Nabokov and made Vasy the backup, it wasn't just to sit and watch Ben Bishop play 60+ games on the season.

Yzerman and Cooper had been saying from the beginning that they wanted Vasilevskiy to get some real playing time.

Bolts need to know what they have in the young goaltender because when Bishop's contract is up in two years, they need to make a decision:  Extend Bishop or make Vasilevskiy the number one.

 

Seems plausible now, for Vasy to be the number one in about two seasons, but when I suggested that idea while Vasy was still in the minors, I was laughed at by more than a few people.

It's not that I don't like Bishop (I love his play, swagger, and overall personality actually), but the fact is, Bishop will be getting very expensive (especially the better he gets) and he could bring back a nice return should the Bolts decide to trade him before his contract is up, at the very least free up cap space to be able to sign some other players on the roster that will be due raises soon (Stamkos is the priority there now, but Hedman, Johnson, Palat, and Kucherov will be due as well), while STILL having a quality, affordable goaltender in Vasilevskiy.

 

All that could be moot and the Bolts decide to stay with Ben Bishop beyond his remaining two years, but the cap situation plus how well both Bishop and Vasy perform will play a big part.

And the ONLY way the Bolts will know if letting Bishop walk later on will be worth it is to see what they have in Vasy NOW.

Ben Bishop will STILL be the number one in 2015-16, but Andrei will be getting his fair share of starts.

Probably not quite a 50-50 split on games, but probably somewhat close to that.  Maybe 55-60% Bishop, 40-45% Vasilevskiy......and Vasy DEFINITELY will be up on parts of the schedule where the Bolts play back to backs, or 3 games in 4 nights.

[teenagemutantninjahertl]

I don't know if it's just me, but I want to see a lot more Andrei Vasilevskiy this coming season. It's not often a team can feel as comfortable with their backup goalie in the net but I have a lot of confidence in Vasy.

 

According to Jon Cooper, there's a bit of a battle going on for the net between Bishop and Vasy. Cooper plans on letting both players get a decent amount of time keeping the other team off the board next season. Vasy is sporting a career .918 save percentage which is middle of the road for goalies but this guy is 20.

 

Bishop and the Lightning defense was having a terrible night against the Rangers in the Eastern Finals and Cooper pulled Bish after the Rangers put up their 5th of the night. Out of the gate, Steve Nash and other Rangers put a lot of pressure on Vasy but he held his own. He let a rebound get away from him and the Rangers ultimately put up their 6th, but what can you expect? This guy is young, doesn't see much time on the ice let alone on a stage like that.. For someone who can't even have a beer after a solid win, he defends the net like a champ.

 

The fact that he's 20 blows my mind. I'm young and this guy is younger than I am. If the Bolts put him out there more, he builds confidence and skills and can become a brick wall sitting in front of the net. With the Lightning's explosive offense, we could see a lot of blowouts in our near future.

 

I'm not saying pull Bishop. But if Vasy can build on his skills and get used to being the one we lean on when our defense isn't at it's best (don't call me crazy for this) Bishop could clear up a lot of cap space and the Bolts could look to build on defense, someone to be Victor Hedman's partner-in-crime. For now, Bishop is our go-to to win games but Vasy also sported a winning record last season in the 16 games he played. He's a rookie.

 

This is something to love about the Lightning. No matter what player, line or anything you choose to look at, the future is bright and promising. Thank you Yzerman for setting us up for years of success to come. On to the next season already!

 

You're going to see a lot more of Vasy. He is a great young goalie. Be patient. Goalies take time to develop into starters. Just look at how Bishop made it to where he is. The Lightning have a great line of goalies right now. 

 

Also, remember that he is still 20 years old. He's still learning to be a professional. A lot of goalies have a rough transition for starting 15-20 games to starting 55-60. To be honest, putting Vasy in the AHL to start 58 out of 76 games would not be the worst thing in the world. Experience makes a goaltender.

 

Just be patient. He looks great, and he should only get even better.