NHL announces finalists for the Vezina Trophy
The NHL is now in the process of announcing the three finalists for every individual trophy for the 2021-22 regular season. They started yesterday with the Norris Trophy and will announce one every day for the next two weeks.
The Vezina Trophy is awarded to the goaltender, who is adjudged to be the best at this position. At the end of each season, the 32 NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in honour of Georges Vezina, goaltender of the Montreal Canadiens from 1910 until 1925, who died in 1926 of tuberculosis.
The NHL announced its three finalists earlier this morning:
Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames finished the season with a record of 37-15-9, a 2.22 goals-against-average, a .922 save percentage posted and a league-leading nine shutouts in 63 games played (he had just eight career shutouts in 315 games entering the season). He helped his club win the Pacific Division with a record of 50-21-11. He also was the first goaltender in franchise history to notch three shutouts in a four-game span (Oct. 21-30). This is Markstrom's first time as a Vezina finalist.
Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators recorded 38 of the Predators' 45 wins, the highest percentage (84.4%) among all NHL goaltenders. He led the NHL in appearances with 67 (all of them starts) and a total ice time of 3,931:23. He ranked second overall in shots against with 2,107, saves with 1,934 and third in wins with 38. Saros was 38-25-3, with a 2.64 GAA, .918 SV%, and four shutouts. He is a Vezina finalist for the first time in his career.
Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers posted an NHL-leading 2.07 goals-against-average, and a .935 save percentage. The Russians SV% was the seventh-best among all NHL goaltenders since the stat was first recorded in 1955 (minimum of 25 games played). He went 36-13-4 with six shutouts in 52 appearances, recording his 30th win of the season in his 41st game (the fewest games in franchise history). Shesterkin is also a first-time finalist for the Vezina.
It's just the second time in the past ten years that all three goaltenders are first-time finalists. The last three were Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche and Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins in 2014. It's also just the third time in the past 32 years as Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild, Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins were first-time finalists in 2009.
The last Boston Bruin to win the Vezina was Tuukka Rask in 2014. Rask also finished second in 2020 behind Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck. Tim Thomas of the Bruins' won the Vezina in 2009 and 2011.
