The NHL announced the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy on Saturday, awarded “to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position.”
This year’s finalists are Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky, Washington’s Braden Holtby, and Montreal’s Carey Price.
Bobrovsky set a new Blue Jackets team record by earning 41 wins this season and led the NHL with a 2.06 GAA and .931 save percentage. He finished tied for third with three shutouts, fourth with 1,727 saves and made 63 starts. This is the second time Bobrovsky has been a Vezina finalist, winning the award in 2013.
Holtby tied for the league lead in wins with 42 and led all goalies with nine shutouts on the season. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner also finished second in GAA (2.07), and fourth in save percentage (.925). By reaching the 40-win plateau, Holtby became just the third goalie in NHL history to hit that milestone in three consecutive seasons, joining Evgeni Nabokov and Martin Brodeur.
Price, coming back from a 2015-16 season in which he played just 12 games due to injury, finished sixth in GAA (2.23), ninth in save percentage (.923), and tied for fifth in wins (37). The start of the season was great for Price, who became the first goalie in league history to win each of his first 10 starts. This is the second time Price has been a finalist for the Vezina, winning the trophy in 2014-15.
The Vezina Trophy is voted on by the NHL’s general managers.
All award winners will be announced on June 21 at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas.
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