On Sunday, NHL Network producers and analysts released their rankings of the league’s top 10 goalies, with Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy taking the No. 1 spot.
Vasilevskiy was named the winner of the 2025-26 Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position by NHL general managers.
The award marked the second Vezina of Vasilevskiy’s career, with his first coming after the 2018-19 season. The 31-year-old has now been named a finalist six times, including last season when he finished runner-up to Connor Hellebuyck.
Vasilevskiy has long been the backbone of the Lightning’s success. This season, he led the NHL with 39 wins while posting a 39-15-4 record in 58 starts. During Tampa Bay’s dominant 20-1-1 stretch from Dec. 20 through Feb. 25, Vasilevskiy recorded an 18-game point streak, going 17-0-1 over that span.
Over the years, Vasilevskiy and head coach Jon Cooper have carefully managed his workload, though he’s never hidden his desire to play all 82 games.
His performance helped guide the Lightning to their ninth consecutive playoff appearance, tied for the longest active postseason streak in the league. Along the way, Vasilevskiy became just the sixth goaltender in NHL history to record at least nine 30-win seasons, trailing only Martin Brodeur, who posted 12.
