The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to an eight-year extension worth $76 million, the team announced Monday.
“Since joining the organization Andrei has shown unmatched work ethic and professionalism both on and off the ice,” Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said in a statement. “We look forward to him continuing his career in Tampa Bay for the foreseeable future.”
The extension begins with the 2020-21 season and keeps Vasilevskiy with the team through the 2027-28 season. He will make $3.5 million next season — the final year of a deal he signed in 2016.
At $9.5 million, the new average annual value of Vasilevskiy’s deal is the third highest among active goalies behind Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens ($10.5M) and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers ($10M), according to CapFriendly.com.
Selected 19th overall in the 2012 draft, Vasilevskiy has spent his entire career with Tampa Bay.
He missed 14 games last season with a broken foot but still took home the Vezina Trophy after posting career bests in save percentage (.925) and goals-against average (2.40) in 53 games.
The 25-year-old Russian led the NHL in wins last year with 39 for a Tampa Bay squad that tied the NHL record for wins in a season with 62.
Unfortunately for Vasilevskiy, his postseason mirrored that of the Lightning. After a stellar regular season, his GAA swelled to 3.82 in a first-round sweep by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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