The Vezina trophy is annually awarded to the NHL goaltender considered to be best at his position throughout the regular season.
Before you head to the top NHL betting sites to wager on this futures market, take into account that the criteria for this award has changed in recent years, so let’s get into the history of one of the most prestigious awards in the NHL.
History of the Vezina Trophy
Since 1927, the Vezina Trophy has been annually granted to the top goaltender in the NHL. The award came about when long-term Montreal Canadiens goaltender Georges Vezina (1910-1925) died of tuberculosis in 1925.
From 1927 until 1941 the award was awarded to the top goaltender in the league. The criteria for selecting this was often debated but in 1941 the criteria changed and was then awarded to the goaltender(s) of the team who allowed the fewest goals during the regular season.
Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante of the #STLBlues receive the 1968-69 Vezina Trophy. Hall was 37 years old and had a 2.17 GAA and a .923 Save%. Plante was 40 and had a 1.96 GAA and a .940 Save%. pic.twitter.com/LgqDzLalct
— Hockey Attic (@HockeyinmyAttic) January 29, 2024
In 1981 the award changed yet again and was then awarded to the most outstanding goaltender voted on by all 32 team GMs in the NHL. Each owner gets three votes with points ranging from 5-3-1, the player with the most points wins the award.
Also in 1981, a new award was created named the William M. Jennings trophy, which serves the function of the old Vezina award and is handed out to the goaltender(s) of the team that allowed the least goals during the regular season. Each goaltender must play a minimum of 25 games if they wish to be in with a chance of receiving the award.
#NHLJets G Connor Hellebuyck finished third in Vezina Trophy voting (which is done by the general managers). Linus Ullmark of the #Bruins won, Ilya Sorokin of the #Isles finished 2nd. pic.twitter.com/FXQaYQjHAF
— Ken Wiebe (@WiebesWorld) June 27, 2023
Seeing as the criteria for winning the award has changed on two occasions, we will only be looking at recent history since the latest inception of the award in 1981.
Dominik Hasek has won the most awards under the current criteria, having won it on six occasions for the Buffalos Sabres. Patrick Roy has won it three times for the Montreal Canadiens and finally, Martin Brodeur is a four-time winner, winning each award for the New Jersey Devils.
Last 10 Vezina Trophy Winners:
23 – L. Ullmark
22 – I. Shesterkin
21 – M. Fleury
20 – C. Hellebuyck
19 – A. Vasilevskiy
18 – P. Rinne
17 – S. Bobrovsky
16 – B. Holtby
15 – C. Price
14 – T. RaskWho will win the Vezina Trophy this year? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/N7wM3FowjM
— SleeperNHL (@SleeperNHL) January 31, 2024
What Lessons We Learned From Recent Winners
Recent winners of the award have not been consistent, with 11 different winners in the previous 12 years. Only Sergei Bobrovsky has won the award twice in recent years, winning it in 2013 and 2017.
As the rules for voting on the winners of the award have changed in recent years, it’s not always the player with the lowest goals against that wins the award but, in general, these goaltenders do need to be somewhat solid defensively.
Only active NHL player with 2 Vezina Trophies:
Sergei Bobrovsky. pic.twitter.com/H5aawOiTeU
— FL PanthersMuse (@flpanthersmuse) October 10, 2023
Only three goaltenders in the previous 12 seasons have ended the season with the best GAA record, but the stats can be iffy as most winners might have a worse GAA record but have played more games than those above in the stats table. To our knowledge, only one winner in the previous 12 years failed to play 35+ games and not be inside the top five in GAA stats, and that was Connor Hellebuyck in 2019-20.
The previous two winners of the award finished the season with the least amount of GAA allowed having played 35+ games. Overall it’s best to look at players who are helping their team in a big way as they may not always have the least amount of goals against.
Who Are the Favorites to Win the Trophy in 2023-24
- Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg) +200
- Thatcher Demko (Vancouver) +300
- Jeremy Swayman (Boston) +550
- Cam Talbot (Los Angeles) +900
- Adin Hill (Las Vegas) +1800
It’s clear to see why Connor Hellebuyck is the favorite to win this year’s Vezina trophy, he has played in every single game for the Winnipeg Jets thus far this season and has only allowed an average of 2.17 goals per game and has won 23 of those 34 games.
Although Adin Hill has the best GAA in the league with 1.93, he has only featured in 16 games. Thatcher Demko has been a major key to Vancouver’s success allowing 2.40 goals per game and has won the most games of any goaltender this season with 25 under his belt.
Jeremy Swayman has featured in 26 games, winning 15 of those with a 2.30 GAA. This year’s winner will likely come from the top two in the betting market.
