Goaltending can make all the difference in hockey. If you have a goalie in the Vezina conversation, chances are you’re sitting in a playoff spot and close to the top of the league standings. This season’s Vezina chase has a runaway favorite in Connor Hellebuyck, but who else is in the conversation to be a finalist for 2024-25?
5. Mackenzie Blackwood
This was once a tough sell, but Mackenzie Blackwood has been outstanding since getting traded to the Colorado Avalanche. He has a .921 SV% across 23 appearances with the Avalanche, but it’s not like he played poorly with the San Jose Sharks before the trade; he posted a .909 SV% with the Sharks.
Related: 2024-25 Calder Trophy Tracker: First Edition
Between both teams, Blackwood is up to a .915 SV% for the season. He’s saved 12.7 goals above expected, ranked 11th league-wide, and has a five-on-five SV% of .914. He’s been excellent and has seemingly solved the Avalanche’s goaltending concerns. He’s appeared in 42 games between both teams, so he should log enough starts to be in the Vezina conversation, assuming he stays healthy.
4. Filip Gustavsson
The Minnesota Wild have been one of the biggest surprises of 2024-25, and goaltending is a significant reason they’ve surged into the top three of the Central Division standings. While Marc-Andre Fleury still plays often enough, Filip Gustavsson has led the way. He struggled a season ago, but he’s having quite the rebound year and looks closer to the goalie he was during the 2022-23 campaign.
Gustavsson is 22-11-3 and has a .915 SV% across 30 appearances. He’s saved 14.6 goals above expected, ranked eighth league-wide. He has an outstanding five-on-five SV% of .933, and he’ll have made enough starts to qualify for the Vezina Trophy, so all the numbers suggest he could be a Vezina finalist.
3. Andrei Vasilevskiy
Andrei Vasilevskiy is back after struggling during the 2023-24 season when he posted a .900 SV%. Through 44 games this season, he’s totaled a .920 SV% while saving 15.7 goals above expected. Most importantly, he has a quality start percentage of .659, which is excellent.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are not the wagon they used to be, so they need high-end goaltending from Vasilevskiy. His backup is Jonas Johansson, so the Lightning will likely lean on Vasilevskiy the rest of the way since Johansson is very hit-or-miss when the Lightning call on him to make a start.
2. Logan Thompson
The Washington Capitals have been one of the biggest surprises in the NHL this season, and goaltending is a significant reason for that. Logan Thompson has been outstanding, compiling an absurd 25-2-5 record and a .920 save percentage through 32 appearances. His underlying numbers have been fantastic as well.
Thompson has saved 28.2 goals above expected, ranked first in the NHL — even ahead of Connor Hellebuyck — and he has a five-on-five SV% of .933. It’ll come down to games played for Thompson since the Capitals split starts 50/50 between him and Charlie Lindgren. But even then, he’s risen up the rankings through the second half of the season because his numbers are insane, and he could give Hellebuyck a bit of a push for the award.
1. Connor Hellebuyck
Hellebuyck is the runaway favorite to win the Vezina Trophy, even though Thompson has closed the gap slightly. He’s 34-7-2 across 34 games played and has a .925 SV% while saving an outrageous 27.8 goals above expected.
In an era of goaltending where the league-average save percentage sits below .900, Hellebuyck posting these numbers is more than impressive. It will take a lot to supplant him as the favorite for the Vezina, and he’s been so good that don’t be surprised if voters give him some consideration for the Hart Trophy.
It’s Still Hellebuyck’s Award to Lose
Other goalies who could receive votes in the Vezina race are Jake Oettinger and Jacob Markström if he returns from his injury soon. Oettinger has been solid this season, posting a .912 SV% while saving 10.3 goals above expected, but he has not been as good as the previously mentioned netminders. He’ll have to go on a heater to close the season to become a finalist.
Anthony Stolarz and Linus Ullmark were having outstanding seasons, but injuries hurt their Vezina bids; the same could be true of Markström. Because of that, the Vezina race has become clearer over the last month. Thompson has made it more interesting, and Vasilevskiy has worked his way up the rankings, but it’s still Hellebuyck’s trophy to lose.
Advanced stats from MoneyPuck
