The Cold War: A New Era Begins

By Johnny Gianfrancesco

Around 6 pm eastern time on February 26th my phone started sounding off. Tweets from Lightning Insider founder Erik Erlendsson ( Twitter: @Erik_Erlendsson ) & multiple hockey analysts lit up on my screen. A couple minutes later, I got the update. Ben Bishop had been traded to the Los Angeles Kings. I knew it was going to happen. It’s like preparing for a traumatic event in the future. You know it’s going to happen but when it happens, you aren’t ready for it. I was shocked. Well, not really. I predicted Los Angeles or St. Louis as a destination in my last article. When you look at the return, many people believe Yzerman won the trade. (shocker, right?) Well, however you view it, Bishop is gone to the west coast and the Tampa Bay Lightning have a new sheriff in town, Andrei Vasilevskiy. I want to thank Bishop for all he did here in Tampa Bay both on and off the ice. He was a huge part of the organization. Many could argue that Bishop is the reason the Lightning are a relevant team again. Let’s cut to the chase, this isn’t a Bishop article. This is about our new goalie of the present. Russian stud, Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Many people believed that Bishop and Vasilevskiy would lead the Lightning to a Stanley Cup this year. However, an under performing season led Yzerman to release his pending UFA in Bishop and hand the torch to Vasilevskiy. He’s ready for the challenge I promise you. First off, our Bolts need to learn how to score when Vasilevskiy is in net. Often times, he makes 30+ saves and gets only 1 or 2 goals in support. That isn’t going to cut it. That’s a dangerous game to play with any goaltender. Our offensive production has been down and our defense has been atrocious at times and that isn’t going to helpVasilevskiy one bit. Despite those flaws, he has the skill and the size to succeed in the NHL for a long time. An excellent puck tracker and quick reactions allowVasilevskiy to make many highlight reel saves. Yes, he does position himself too low at times and on more than one occasion he does allow a soft goal. All of this can be fixed and will be fixed with experience and upgrade on defense (which I’m fairly certain is on the way).

Vasilevskiy, much like Jonathan Quick, now Bishops teammate, is very agile and very quick. He maintains his composure and handles pressure fairly well. Many goals he has allowed this season have been from lucky deflections or unlucky bounces so to speak. Either way you view it, goals are goals and he needs to shut the door. Remember when he had back to back shutouts? That was THIS season. He is 22 years old and his chances to shine have been in the deep end more often than not. Regardless, I’m confident Vasilevskiy will look this opportunity in the eye and take full control of it.

We are all going to miss Ben Bishop. Arguably the best goaltender this hockey team has ever had and his stats prove it. While you hate to see such an impactful player leave, I believe with Bishop gone, it may helpVasilevskiy’s confidence. Yes, he loved playing next to Bish and learned a lot. But when you break it down, he is a starting goalie who was sitting on the bench and with every start, there was a sense of, “is this kid worth it?” Well, now Vasilevskiy can take a deep breath and realize it’s his net to lose. Take hold of the reigns and lead this time. From Big Ben Bishop to Russian stud Vasilevskiy. Sit back and enjoy the ride; A new era has begun.

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February 27th, 2017