Leading the way in key stats

Given how the team performed last season, it’s near-impossible to overlook Connor Hellebuyck for the Vezina Trophy this season. In 2022/23, he finished third in the voting, behind Ilya Sorokin and the winner, Ullmark. This year, the Winnipeg Jets netminder has consistently been the difference-maker for the postseason-bound team.

At the time of writing, the Jets were tied with the Florida Panthers for the fewest goals conceded at 177. While that’s not all Hellebuyck’s doing, his GAA was at an exceedingly low 2.42 with 53 starts under his belt. Plus, he has long been the league leader in save percentage among regular starters. At this point, his SV% stood at .920.

On an equally strong team for goals against, Sergei Bobrovsky rocks up as a Vezina Trophy candidate. His stats line is nearly identical to Hellebuyck with a .914 SV% and 2.41 GAA with 52 starts. However, the Russian shot-stopper is on a team that’s favoured to challenge for the Cup. Last season, the Panthers finished as the runners-up.

Also in the discussion at the very peak is the teammate of the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins has been excellent in tandem with Ullmark. However, his strong stats of .916 SV% and 2.58 GAA are from a smaller sample size. With less than ten games to go, Swayman was closing in on his 40th start.

Coming up big in underrated moments

So far, we’ve delved into total stats and overall performances. However, it’s also important to look at how goaltenders perform when you need them to come up clutch the most. Where goaltenders have to be great is against short-handed attempts – usually on the breakaway.

A huge moment in the game, breakaways are invariably seen as golden opportunities for one skater to catch the goalie out and score. It’s why the breakaway is the centrepiece of the best hockey online slots Canada has to offer, the Break Away series.

The rush certainly fits well into the slot gaming experience. Still, it’s a situation to be dreaded by goaltenders. In this regard, the heroic Hellebuyck actually falls short. He has a .879 save percentage against short-handed teams from 33 shots against.

Last season’s Vezina runner-up, Ilya Sorokin, is perfect at 38 saves on 38 short-handed shots. The Islanders goalie is followed by the .971 SV% of Swayman and Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars. This key stat should come into the minds of voters as it truly shows a goalie making up for the failures of their skaters.

As it stands, Hellebuyck does look to be the Vezina Trophy frontrunner overall, but there’s time for another to rise up the ranks.