The Lightning’s goaltending situation this year was… interesting, to say the least. Originally slated to be under Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jonas Johansson, that duo only played for four months out of the season, with book-ended appearances at the beginning and the end of the year from Matt Tomkins. In what was certainly a challenging season for the team as a whole, the goaltending was one of the lone bright spots in the first-round defeat. As we did with every other position, we’re going to go through every player, assign the grade, talk about their pros and cons from the season, and examine their contract situation going into next year.
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Grade: B
A lot of Vasilevskiy's play this year can be attributed to him coming off of back surgery. Since he didn’t get started until the end of November, the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 served as a rehabilitation process and an extended preseason for Vasilevskiy. All things considered, he was probably the best player on the ice, not named Steven Stamkos, for the Lightning in their first-round loss in the playoffs. For that, he gets a solid B, thanks to a good playoff performance and a less-than-typical regular season.
Pros and Cons
Pro: Gaining Strength
As mentioned before, Vasilevskiy did a really good job at improving his play as this season went along, and he began to heal from his surgery. This culminated in a very nice stretch of play in the first round of the playoffs.
Con: Missing time
In what seems obvious, Vasilevskiy missing the first 20 games of the regular season due to his injury set the Lightning back and made their climb toward the playoffs even more difficult. Since he rarely obtains major injuries like this, Lightning fans should expect he'll be just fine next season.
Contract
Vasilevskiy is going to be under contract for quite some time. The 28-year-old will make $9.5M against the cap until 2027-28 and currently has a full no-movement clause. He’s here to stay.
Jonas Johansson
Grade: C
Johansson came to the Lightning with an inconsistent track record over his career, and this season seemed to be no different. Johansson was great at helping the Lightning face an impossible challenge without Andrei Vasilevskiy for the first half of the season but also struggled at times in the Lightning's new system, which is why he gets a middle-of-the-road grade.
Pros and Cons
Pro: Held the line
Having to take over for someone like Andrei Vasilevskiy when you are expected to be the backup can be daunting, but Johansson was up to the challenge. Johansson finished the year with a 12-7-5 record, a 3.37 GAA, and a .890 SV%. While these numbers may not look fantastic on the surface, Johansson suffered from the Lightning trying to work out a new defensive system that had a lot of issues throughout the season. And at the end of the day, when Johansson was playing well, he kept the Lightning in a playoff spot when most expected them to fall far behind the playoff race.
Con: Injury and inconsistent.
Again, while the Lightning did have more defensive struggles than normal, Johansson certainly had games where things quickly fell apart, showing his relative NHL inexperience. The consistency started to show more when Vasialevskiy came back, and Johansson fell out of the rhythm of being a regular starter. He also suffered an injury late in the season, forcing Matt Tomkins to step up into the backup role.
Contract
Tomkins Signed a 2-year deal with an AAV of 775,000, which means he has one year left on his deal heading into the 2024-25 season. While Johansson wasn't perfect, he was on par with other Lightning backup goaltenders while being on a cheap deal, so expect him to assume the normal role of a full-time backup to Vasilevskiy next season.
Hopefully, in this normal role and with a full offseason with the Lightning, offseason with Johansson can find that consistency and be a solid backup for the team.
Matt Tomkins
Grade: A
Matt Tomkins was someone Lightning fans were not expecting to see in a Lightning uniform this year. However, due to Vasilevskiy's injury and limited cap space, the Lightning needed a new backup goaltender, with Johansson being moved into the starting role. Enter Matt Tomkins. While he did not play much, Tomkins quickly became a fan favorite, making some big saves, including stopping Auston Matthews from reaching 70 goals.
Tomkins isn't getting an A because of his stats but rather because of his great effort and relative play to his experience, all while helping the Lightning navigate through injuries.
Pros and Cons
Pro: Played well in a tough situation
As mentioned before, Matt Tomkins had to jump into a backup role, and he certainly held his own for a 29-year-old with no NHL experience. Finishing with a 3-2-1 record, a 3.33 GAA, and a .892 SV%, Tomkins showed some good upside. While there were games, he was letting in a lot of goals. He was also making big saves after big save, keeping the Lightning in the game and giving them a fighting chance.
Con: Inexperience showed
Even though Tomkins is 29, this was his first NHL season, and playing on a team that struggled defensively, his inexperience showed with goals late in games slipping by him. These are things that can usually be helped with experience, something Tomkins just doesn't have.
Contract
Tomkins still has one year remaining on his deal with an AAV of 775,000. Expect him to head back down with the Syracuse Crunch and possibly re-take the starting role, with Hugo Alnafelt possibly on his way out.
Tomkins could benefit from being the main goaltender in Syracuse and be a solid emergency backup goaltender for the Lightning next season with Johansson still under contract.
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