Vasilevskiy mulls training changes following Lightning's 1st-round exit

TAMPA --Andrei Vasilevskiy said his body began to give out on him midway through the season, and as result the Tampa Bay Lightning goalie will be making some adjustments to his offseason training to allow time for recovery.

Vasilevskiy won 34 games with a 2.65 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 60 games this season; the GAA was his highest, and his save percentage his lowest since he became a full-time starter in 2017-18. His 26 losses (regulation and overtime combined) were the most he has had in an NHL season.

He had a 3.56 GAA and .875 save percentage in a six-game loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference First Round.

"The first 30-35 games I felt as usual," Vasilevskiy said Tuesday, "but then … I don't know, me and my body weren't on the same page, I guess. All of those small injuries came out at the same time, so I just … my mistake was that I didn't really pay attention to recovery, so I kept pushing myself to the limit. As I said after Game 35, my body kind of let me down. To be honest, I didn't feel that great after that."

Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Vasilevskiy has played 217 regular-season games and 77 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He won the Vezina Trophy, voted as the top goalie in the NHL, in 2019 and the Conn Smythe Trophy, voted as most valuable player in the playoffs, in 2021.

Though he said he would much rather have continued competing in the playoffs, Vasilevskiy said he's looking at the Lightning's earliest playoff exit since 2018-19 as an opportunity to give himself some much needed rest.

He said he plans to go home to Russia for about a month and may wait up to seven weeks before getting back into his training schedule.

"I don't really like to take too much time off, but at the same time I understand it's something I need right now," Vasilevskiy said. "I need to recover my body [badly]."

Vasilevskiy said he didn't rule out adjusting the way he handles his regular-season schedule.

"I didn't change anything, but I probably should have just to pay more attention to my recovery during the season," Vasilevskiy said. "Maybe sometimes I should have settled back instead of pushing ever harder. But we'll find out next year if it was too many games or maybe something else. "

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said he thought Vasilevskiy had another strong year and expects him to continue to perform at a high level.

"I say that no goaltender played as much as he has in so many pressure games in the biggest spotlight over the last 36 months than that kid," Cooper said. "At some point will it take a toll? I'm sure it does. His body will heal, he's still a young man (28 years old) and he keeps himself in terrific shape, but the mind has got to heal. I think that will probably be the best part for him."

Prior to their first-round loss this season, the Lightning had reached the Stanley Cup Final for three straight seasons from 2019-22; they won back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021, and lost to the Colorado Avalanche in six games in the Cup Final last season. They had not lost in the opening round since being swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019, after Tampa Bay won the Presidents' Trophy with the best regular-season record in the NHL (62-16-4) in 2018-19.

The Lightning will have plenty of time to rest and deal with potential roster changes; forwards Alex Killorn, Corey Perry and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, defenseman Ian Cole and goalie Brian Elliott each can become an unrestricted free agent July 1.

Killorn, who has played his entire 11-season NHL career with Tampa Bay, had a League career-high 64 points (27 goals, 37 assists) in 82 games this season.

"Alex loves it here, he wants to stay here and we'd love to have him here," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said. "He's coming off of a career year and he means so much to this organization on and off the ice."

BriseBois also said there will be conversations regarding new contracts for forwards Steven Stamkos and Brandon Hagel. Each has one season remaining on his contract.

Hagel, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on March 18, 2022, had an NHL career-high 64 points (30 goals, 34 assists) in 81 games.

Stamkos reached several NHL milestones this season, including 500 goals, 500 assists, 1,000 points and 1,000 NHL games. He had 84 points (34 goals, 50 assists) this season and is Tampa Bay's all-time leader in goals (515), points (1,056), power-play goals (195) and game-winning goals (79).

"Hopefully there's a conversation this summer and we go from there," the Lightning captain said. "In my eyes, this is the only jersey I ever want to wear in my career."