Vasilevskiy of Lightning presented Vezina Trophy with assist from police K-9

TAMPA -- Andrei Vasilevskiy had just finished up an offseason workout at Benchmark International Arena last week when approached by law enforcement. 

The Tampa Bay Lighting goalie was told someone was seen in the parking lot and they might have done something to his car. Vasilevskiy kept a safe distance while Tampa Police Department's K-9 unit approached the vehicle and seemed a bit worried when Dutch, the K-9 unit's dog, detected a suspicious package inside.

The officers then pulled out a big black bag and went to open it, with Vasilevskiy taking a few steps back. 

What was inside? 

It was the Vezina Trophy, which is awarded annually to the goalie voted the best at his position by NHL general managers. The 31-year-old led the League with 39 wins and finished 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 (2018-19).

"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."

Tampa Police K-9-unit officers Matthew Milana and Joshua Yungaitis executed the surprise with assistance from Kelvin Alexander, the security manager at Benchmark International Arena. 

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"I don't think he knew anything was up," Milana said. "He stepped back a few feet when Josh opened the car door, and he saw the (package) in the front seat. He didn't know what it was and stepped back even further and seemed a little nervous. Then Josh pulled out the award for him."

Vasilevskiy said he began to get the feeling something was going on as the process played out.

"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."

Yungadis, who is a Lightning season-ticket holder, said he didn't know he was taking part in a surprise until about five minutes before the plan went into action.

"I thought we were doing some sort of demonstration,” he said. “But I was more than thrilled. I love the Lightning."

A six-time Vezina finalist, Vasilevskiy helped Tampa Bay (50-26-6) finish 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 from Dec. 20-Feb. 25.

Vasilevskiy is a two-time Stanley Cup champion (2020, 2021) with the Lightning and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2021. 

"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."

(5-3-1 points allocation)