- Andrei Vasilevskiy won his second career Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender
- Tampa Police staged a fake car break-in with a K-9 unit to surprise him with the award
- Read below for the video, his reaction, and the numbers behind the win
Andrei Vasilevskiy thought somebody had messed with his car. Instead, a police dog led him straight to his second Vezina Trophy.
The Lightning goalie had just finished an offseason workout at Benchmark International Arena last week when Tampa Police approached him. They told him someone had been spotted near his car in the parking lot. Vasilevskiy kept his distance while the K-9 unit’s dog, Dutch, sniffed out a suspicious package inside.
Officers pulled a big black bag out of the car and started to open it. Vasilevskiy backed away. Inside was the Vezina Trophy, handed out every year to the goalie voted the best at his position by NHL general managers.
Watch the whole setup play out:
Vasilevskiy admitted the officers sold the bit well.
“It was a surprise,” Vasilevskiy said. “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.”
He started to catch on once the cops got a little too relaxed around whatever was sitting in his front seat.
“Once they opened the door to my car, they were a little too comfortable with the object inside,” he said. “Then I kind of guessed a little bit.”
The Lightning had some fun with the announcement too:
This is the second Vezina of Vasilevskiy’s career. He won his first back in 2018-19, and he has now been a finalist six times.
The 31-year-old led the NHL with 39 wins this season and finished with a .912 save percentage and a 2.31 goals-against average. It was his ninth straight 30-win season, the second-longest run in league history behind Martin Brodeur.
Here’s how that streak stacks up:
The award caps a busy stretch on the NHL hardware calendar, with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield picking up trophies of their own earlier in the week.
Vasilevskiy already owns two Stanley Cups and the 2021 Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. A second Vezina just gives Tampa Bay’s franchise goalie one more piece for a trophy case that keeps filling up.
