Vasilevskiy Earns Second Vezina Trophy Award With Aid From Police K-9
- Mike Smith
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy found himself in a potential legal quandary last week when the Tampa Police Department arrived at Benchmark International Arena looking for him. Officers met with the Bolts netminder after a morning workout to investigate suspicious activity involving his car.
The situation got even more tense for Vasilevskiy when Dutch, one of Tampa's finest K-9s, hit on a suspicious package inside his vehicle while searching its perimeter.
The suspicious, very large black bag, unknown to Vasilevskiy, was removed by the officers as the world-renowned goalie stepped back with a very concerned look on his face. The officers opened the bag.
Inside?
The Vezina Trophy, awarded annually by the NHL's general managers to the goalie voted best at his position.
The 31-year-old led the NHL with 31 wins, with a .912 save percentage and a 2.31 goals-against-average, finishing second in each statistic among goalies with at least 45 starts.
Vasilevskiy won the award for the second time in his career, having first won it in 2018-19.
"It was a surprise," Vasilevskiy laughed. "I was just happy that my car was in one piece, and I didn't want to go through the insurance process. Big surprise. This was a great show."
"Once they opened the door to my car, they were a little too comfortable with the object inside the car," he said. "Then I kind of guessed a little bit."
A six-time Vezina finalist, 'The Big Cat' helped Tampa Bay to a 50-26-6 record in 2025-26, finishing second in the Atlantic Division this season.
He allowed two goals or fewer in 35 of 58 games and was 17-0-1 with a 1.90 GAA and .925 save percentage during the Lightning's amazing win streak from late December through February.
Vasilevskiy, a two-time Stanley Cup Champion and Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2021 as playoff MVP, had some harsh words regarding the team's first-round exit at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in May.
However, the Russian phenomenon lovingly referred to by fans simply as 'Vasy,' was much more lighthearted and happy to receive the honor, reminding everyone of his loyalty to his team and teammates.
"I'm really grateful," he said. "Professionally, this is one of your ultimate goals, but it's all about the team. It takes a lot to have a good defensive team. I can't say enough about (my teammates), about this organization, the trainers, coaches, the fans … it's a team award."
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