Vasilevskiy's Pranked Vezina

Tampa Bay’s “trophy sting” was carried out while Vasilevskiy trained in the gym at the Lightning’s home rink, Benchmark International Arena. Tampa Police later used an investigation prompt—claiming there was a suspicious object nearby—to get him to identify his own vehicle; a K-9 alerted to something in the passenger seat before officers retrieved the sealed trophy.

Vasilevskiy said he initially focused on avoiding paperwork after hearing police believed there was a suspicious object in his car: “I was just happy that my car is in one piece… I didn't want to go through the insurance process.”

The NHL voting structure was emphasized in the announcement: the Vezina is “awarded annually to the goalie voted the best at his position by NHL general managers,” with 32 GMs participating in the vote.

In addition to coach Jon Cooper’s Jack Adams Trophy, the Lightning’s other award pipeline includes Nikita Kucherov being a finalist for both the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Trophy, according to the report on the Vezina presentation.