Ullmark May Face Some Competition for the Vezina Trophy After All
Linus Ullmark has been the Vezina Trophy front runner basically all season long, however, a late season surge has put a surprising goalie in the conversation.
Not as Unanimous as First Thought
Despite Ullmark being the best goalie at a consistent rate, one fellow All-Star has soared up the rankings to possibly challenge the Bruins' netminder for the award.
According to moneypuck.com, Juuse Saros has passed Ullmark for the league lead in GSAx, becoming the first to do so since the start of the 2022-23 season.
Saros is the only goalie in the top-10 that isn't on a current playoff team.
A Predators team that also traded away Mattias Ekholm, Nino Niederreiter, Markus Granlund and Tanner Jeannot, and are also without Roman Josi, Ryan Johanson, Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg and William Carrier, but are still one point out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
For the season, Saros has a record of 31-22-7, while carrying a 2.71 GAA and a .918 SV%. Although his late dominance has put him in the running, it will be hard for any goalie to take home the Vezina over Ullmark.
When it comes down to it, Ullmark should - and most likely will - win the Vezina because of his consistent dominance. The Swede currently leads all NHL goalies in wins (38), GAA (1.90) and SV% (.937), and maybe the best part, one goal scored.
| POLL | ||
Who SHOULD win the Vezina Trophy? | ||
| Ullmark | 864 | 96.2 % |
| Saros | 17 | 1.9 % |
| Hellebuyck | 9 | 1 % |
| Sorokin | 8 | 0.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
