NHL Declares Vezina Trophy Finalists
The finalists for the NHL's best goaltender have been announced:
- Igor Shesterkin (NYR)
- Juuse Saros (NSH)
- Jacob Markstrom (CGY)
Let's examine the three goaltenders & see if we can identify an outlier:
Shesterkin:
Igor was absolutely sensational for most of this season. At one point, he was on pace for the best goaltending season in the last fifty years. Even so, his 2.07 GAA, .935 SV%, & 6 shutouts are still quite extraordinary. While Head Coach Gerard Gallant overhauled the way the Rangers play, bringing the game more to his goaltender, Igor was the Rangers' MVP. And it isn't particularly close. No player was more singularly useful to his team than Shesterkin, so in addition to the Vezina I might even consider Igor for the Hart Trophy as well.
Markstrom:
Jacob Markstrom had an incredible season behind a wagon of a Flames team. Head Coach Darryl Sutter's patented regiment of structure, discipline, and aggressiveness no doubt played in Markstrom's favor. However, good defense is equally reliant on good goaltending as the inverse. Markstrom's 2.22 GAA, .922 SV%, and NINE shutouts (led the NHL), were quite impressive. While it wasn't quite the individual run that Igor had, Markstrom had a phenomenal season after many questioned if he was even worthy of a starting position.
Saros:
Arguably the most interesting of the three, Juuse Saros was the sole reason the Predators made the postseason over the Vegas Golden Knights. Well, that and the epic implosion of said Knights. But Saros was the Predators' hero this season. Due respect to Roman Josi & Filip Forsberg, without Saros' 2.64 GAA & .918 SV% (which appear middling compared to the two above), the Predators would have been hopeless this season. And if you put stock in Wins Above Replacement, the statistic made infamous in baseball, only 6% (~30) skaters accounted for more individual wins than Saros.
In a nutshell, Shesterkin was the best goalie in the NHL this year, but Markstrom & Saros each deserve their flowers. The question is, though: will Shesterkin be nominated for the Hart as he should be?
| POLL | ||
MAI 10 | 202 ANSWERS NHL Declares Vezina Trophy Finalists Will Shesterkin be nominated for the Hart Trophy? | ||
| Yes | 90 | 44.6 % |
| No | 76 | 37.6 % |
| See results | 36 | 17.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Clayton Keller | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jonathan Drouin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Roman Josi | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kyle Palmieri | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matt Duchene | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Samuel Girard | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Claude Giroux | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Oliver Kylington | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||