Congrats to now two-time Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Vasy added another major line to an already Hall-of-Fame-caliber resume, after a season where he led the NHL with 39 wins and posted 23.57 goals saved above expected.
WILD.
What I dig about Vasilevskiy is evolution.
Early in his career, Vasilevskiy could erase breakdowns with raw tools: a massive frame, explosive east-west pushes, and enough flexibility to seal plays that most goalies were simply late to.
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The kind of nasty goalie who could make a desperation save look like a controlled technical choice.
Even at the decrepit age of 31, he is still plenty athletic, but his game has become more efficient.
He is reads plays earlier, arrives cleaner, and relies less on pure emergency-button athleticism.
The recent playoff results aside, Vasilevskiy has maintained elite regular-season performance across more than a decade, while carrying a workload and expectation level few modern goalies can touch.
Two Stanley Cups.
Two Vezinas.
Six finalist appearances in nine seasons.
That is not just “one of the best goalies right now” territory.
That is one of the defining goaltenders of his generation.