Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Hellebuyck (Commerce, Mich.) shared the League lead with 44 wins to guide the Jets to their best season in team history. In doing so, he shattered the franchise’s record for victories in one campaign, set by Kari Lehtonen in 2006-07 (34 w/ ATL), and also surpassed Tom Barrasso (Boston, Mass.) for the most wins by a U.S.-born goaltender in one NHL season (43 in 1992-93 w/ PIT). Hellebuyck earned 30 of his victories at Bell MTS Place (2.31 GAA, .921 SV%, 4 SO), matching the single-season NHL record for home wins established by Wayne Stephenson in 1975-76 (w/ PHI). He also ranked in the top 10 among goaltenders in games played (t‑1st; 67), shutouts (3rd; 6), goals-against average (8th; 2.36) and save percentage (10th; .924). The 24-year-old Hellebuyck, who set another club record with nine straight wins to close the regular season (March 15 – April 7), is the first Vezina Trophy finalist in Jets/Thrashers history.

Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

Rinne ranked third in the NHL with 42 victories, behind only Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy, to backstop the Predators to their first Presidents’ Trophy as well as franchise records for wins and points. He also shared the League lead and set a club record with eight shutouts while placing in the top 10 among netminders in goals-against average (5th; 2.31) and save percentage (7th; .927). Rinne matched a career high with 11 straight wins from Feb. 19 – March 19, the longest such run by any goaltender in 2017-18. He earned his 300th NHL win Feb. 22, becoming the 34th goaltender in League history to reach the milestone, and posted his 40th victory of the season March 19, becoming the seventh NHL goaltender to achieve the feat three times (also 2011-12 and 2014-15). The 35-year-old Kempele, Finland, native is a Vezina Trophy finalist for the fourth time after finishing second in voting in 2010-11 and 2014-15 and third in 2011-12.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

Vasilevskiy tied Hellebuyck with a League-leading 44 wins and Rinne with an NHL-best eight shutouts to also propel the Lightning to their finest season in club history. He set franchise records in both categories, surpassing Ben Bishop’s 40 victories in 2014-15 and Nikolai Khabibulin’s seven shutouts in 2001-02. Vasilevskiy – who compiled a 2.62 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in 65 appearances – won nine straight games from Oct. 9-30, also eclipsing Khabibulin’s team record of eight straight victories from Feb. 23 – March 6, 2004. The 23-year-old Tyumen, Russia, native became the 12th different goaltender in NHL history to finish a season with at least a share of the League lead in wins prior to his 24th birthday – and first to do so since Carey Price in 2010-11 (w/ MTL). A first-time finalist, Vasilevskiy is aiming to become the first Lightning netminder to capture the Vezina Trophy.

History

Leo Dandurand, Louis Letourneau and Joe Cattarinich, former owners of the Montreal Canadiens, presented the trophy to the National Hockey League in 1926-27 in memory of Georges Vezina, the outstanding Canadiens goaltender who collapsed during an NHL game on Nov. 28, 1925, and died of tuberculosis a few months later. Until the 1981-82 season, the goaltender(s) of the team allowing the fewest number of goals during the regular season were awarded the Vezina Trophy.

Announcement Schedule

The three finalists for NHL Trophies are being announced by NBC Sports in the United States and Sportsnet/TVA Sports in Canada during pregame programming for the Stanley Cup Playoffs through Monday, April 30. The series of announcements continues on Wednesday, April 18, when the three finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy will be unveiled.