Today the Tampa Bay Lightning placed veteran goalie Evgeni Nabokov on waivers and recalled rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy from Syracuse. The Bolts will find out at noon tomorrow whether Nabokov, who signed a one-year deal worth $1.55 million in the off-season, is claimed by another team.
The moves are not surprising and neither is the timing considering the Lightning’s packed schedule with two back-to-backs and a five game western road trip at the end of the month.
Here is the press release from the team:
The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed goalie Evgeni Nabokov on waivers, the Lightning said Sunday.
Nabokov, 39, has played for the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders and Lightning during his 14 NHL seasons. His 353 wins and 697 games are second among active goaltenders, but he’s 3-6-2 with a 3.14 goals-against average and .882 save percentage in 11 games (nine starts) for Tampa Bay this season.
Nabokov signed a one-year contract July 1 with the Lightning.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, 20, was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League. Vasilevskiy is 3-1-0 with a 1.76 GAA and .937 save percentage in four games this season, and considered one of the top goaltending prospects in the world. He was ranked No. 7 (second among goaltenders) among NHL.com’s preseason top 60 prospects.
“We decided we wanted to give him more games,” Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said of Vasilevskiy. “We didn’t feel it was right for Evgeni or the team to kind of keep him here if he’s not going to play.”
Many are praising Yzerman for the moves, but many questions still remain.
Was the move made to shed salary to bring in a veteran defenseman via trade? Will Vasilevskiy be shuttled back and forth from Syracuse to maintain consistent playing time? What will happen to Nabokov if he is not claimed? Will he retire or will he report to Syracuse?
This could be the last of Nabokov in the NHL. He’s had a terrific career over 14 seasons, but when it goes…it goes fast. Over the last five seasons his save percentage has plummeted and at age 39 it’s not going to get better. Odds are that he won’t be claimed and he won’t report to Syracuse. Certainly he will be offered a coaching or front office opportunity with a team.
As far as a rotation between Tampa Bay and Syracuse for Vasilevskiy, it probably won’t happen right away due to the upcoming schedule, but according to Yzerman, it will happen:
Yzerman said plan is have Vasy up and playing games, could have a scenario where Gudlevskis and Vasy swap to ensure playing time for borh
— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) February 1, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsSteve Yzerman is most certainly still looking to upgrade the defense with Radko Gudas and Matt Carle out for an extended period of time, but this move was going to be made no matter what.
What are your thoughts Lightning fans?
(Feature Photo/Getty Images)
Follow me on Twitter @LightningShout and please “like” LightningShout on Facebook. You can email us at [email protected].
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
