A month full of Olympic action in February almost made us forget there was NHL action to be played. Each team only played a handful of games, but it’s been about a month since the last Vezina Trophy check-in.
Let’s see how the frontrunners looked in the action they got. There are two solid favorites still, but we’ll look at those who are among the four top candidates right now.
It’s mainly the same goalies from last time. Olympics, naturally, don’t get taken into account. As much as we’ve talked about Connor Hellebuyck the past week, and rightfully so, the new Secretary of Defense is still absent in the award hunt this season. Maybe the Olympics will spark a late surge, but this is all we’ll discuss about him for now.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
It feels like an eternity ago at this point, but the highlight of the month for Andrei Vasilevskiy was the multiple right hooks he landed on Jeremy Swayman in the Stadium Series game in Tampa Bay. Otherwise, there hasn’t been much to write home about for him.
Until the last game of February, it was overall decent for him. He was nails against the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs. While he allowed five goals against the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium, he stood tall as the comeback got going, and he played well enough to secure an overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres.
However, that rematch against the Sabres to close out the month, yikes. He allowed five goals on 14 shots, and he was lifted in favor of backup Jonas Johansson. It took his save percentage (SV%) for the month from .914 to .887.
It’s not going to break his Vezina chances. He’s still arguably the favorite. A bad game was going to happen. But he can’t afford to have many of those nights, and neither can the Lightning.
Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders
For what it’s worth, he recorded an assist. Advanced stats still love Ilya Sorokin after what was, on the surface level, a so-so month. He had a .904 SV% in four games, but he still leads the NHL with 27.8 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
Related: NHL’s Top 10 Defencemen for 2025-26: Midseason Update
While between the pipes, the New York Islanders won all four games, three of them in overtime. He allowed three or more goals in each of those overtime wins. It’s not ideal, but it’s nothing he can’t course-correct from.
He and his Russian counterpart are still the top two netminders in the race. It’s going to take a major effort from someone else or a major implosion for either of their cases to truly be threatened.
Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals
He saw action in three NHL games this season, and he looks fantastic. Logan Thompson posted a .937 SV% in three games played. The Washington Capitals won each game. He never allowed more than two goals.
His overall traditional stats are holding him back, but he’s second in GSAx (22.2), with only Sorokin ahead of him. Vasilevskiy is still right on his tail with a 19.0 GSAx. Thompson is still a solid candidate to be a finalist for the Vezina this season.
John Gibson, Detroit Red Wings
Scott Wedgewood is out. John Gibson has officially entered the fray. He forced his way into the discussion, at least the discussion to be a finalist. After an anemic October and November, he’s played out of his mind for the Detroit Red Wings.
He has a .925 SV% in his last 25 games in net. In February, he had a .944 SV% in three games played. He still trails his peers in the GSAx stat. While the others make up the top three, he’s 10th (10.3) among goalies who have played in at least 25 games this season. In theory, he could catch up with how he’s playing, but he’s pushing for a finalist nod at best, barring something insane.
To his credit, he’s gotten us to discuss him. That’s more than what can be said about any other goalie not discussed in this latest update.
As we enter the final full month of the NHL season, these are the four netminders to keep an eye on in the Vezina Trophy race. By this point, if any of these goalies fall behind, they’ll be dropped with no fourth goalie added on, unless someone seriously earned it. If it’s a three- or two-goalie discussion next month, then so be it. We’ll see you all again on April 1 for the next update.
