Vasilevskiy out 10 weeks for Lightning after back surgery

Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to be out 10 weeks for the Tampa Bay Lightning after having back surgery Thursday.

The goalie had a successful microdiscectomy to address a lumbar disk herniation.

"My understanding is that there's no concern long term," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said. "Once the surgery was a success, we [expected] him to make a full recovery and be back to his old self. The doctor's opinion was based on how powerful an athlete Andrei is and how flexible he is. … If anything, those attributes will help him make a full recovery."

BriseBois said that Vasilevskiy had an injection to address the back issue and it was believed to have resolved itself before the start of training camp. However, Vasilevskiy was removed from the ice during group work on the first day of camp after reaggravating the injury. He received a second injection during camp and went through several days of treatment.

"It helped, but it didn't completely resolve the issue," BriseBois said. "The medical opinion was that he should go ahead and have surgery. That was the only way to fully recover from the herniated disk."

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Vasilevskiy was day to day earlier in the week but that there were no long-term concerns and that he expected the goalie to play in one of the Lightning's final three preseason games.

The Lightning open the regular season Oct. 10 against the Nashville Predators. They play their 28th game of the season on Dec. 7, 10 weeks from Thursday.

"I want everyone just to be clear on this. This isn't the end of 'Vasy's' season," Cooper said Friday. "He will be back. And hopefully, knowing him, it'll be sooner than later but for a short time here, we're going to have to fill the gap."

Vasilevskiy was 34-22-4 with a 2.65 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and four shutouts in 60 games last season, the sixth straight season he had at least 30 wins. He was sixth in the NHL in wins last season; he had led or tied for the League lead in wins each of the previous five seasons (2017-22).

"Obviously no one's going to replace Andrei Vasilevskiy, he's the best goalie in the world," BriseBois said.

The 29-year-old won the Vezina Trophy in 2018-19 and has finished in the top five in voting five of the past six seasons. Since 2015-16, he leads the NHL in wins (256) and is third in shutouts (31). Vasilevskiy helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons, playing every minute in the 2020 and 2021 playoffs. He was 16-7 with a 1.90 GAA, .937 save percentage and five shutouts in 23 games to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2021.

At the Lightning's media day, Vasilevskiy hinted that he would take a slower approach to camp after making some adjustments to his offseason training program.

"I made some changes, nothing much," Vasilevskiy said. "I am paying attention to my recovery a lot more now."

The Lightning have three other goalies on their training camp roster -- Jonas Johansson, Matt Tomkins and Hugo Alnefelt -- with Johansson the only one to have started an NHL game.

"We still have five preseason games, so time gives us time to get our goalies some reps, for us to get even more familiar with them and for them to get more familiar with the players playing in front of them so they can read the play, anticipate and perform at a high level," BriseBois said.

Johansson is 11-13-4 with a 3.32 GAA and .887 save percentage in 35 NHL games (28 starts) with the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres.

BriseBois said the plan was to continue with the goalies that are on the roster but did not rule out a trade.

"We think the goalies we have are able to get the job done and able to carry the load," he said. "In the meantime, that doesn't mean that we're not going to be exploring other options or haven't been exploring other options."