2020-21 NHL Season Midway Rankings: Vezina Trophy Finalists
Who are the main contenders for the Vezina Trophy at the halfway point of the 2020-21 NHL season?
It seems hard to believe, but we have already passed the halfway point of the 2020-21 NHL season. Of course, teams have only played roughly 30 games, but this season was shortened to 56-games due to complications caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic. While 30 games isn’t a ton, it is enough of a sample size to show us who is having great years, and who are having ones to forget.
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As for the goalies, there have been plenty who have had fantastic seasons to this point. It has been an interesting year given that the condensed schedule has resulted in teams playing many back-to-back games, which has made the backup position more important than ever. There are many backups around the league who are not only proving they are capable of that role, but perhaps auditioning themselves for a starting role somewhere down the road.
Still, the starters in the league are always the ones who generate the most buzz, some for good reason and some not. Given that we are over halfway through the year, there are some who are starting to generate noise online that they may be in line for the Vezina Trophy, which is the award given to the league’s best goaltender every season. When it comes to picking a Vezina Trophy winner, there are three finalists named before it is decided on who is the winner. Though there is still plenty of time left in the season and things could change, here are the most three deserving of the award as it stands today.
Three main contenders for the Vezina Trophy midway through the 2020-21 NHL Season
3. Marc-Andre Fleury – Vegas Golden Knights
What a season it has been for The Flower. Speaking of backups above, many assumed that Robin Lehner would be the guy in Vegas after they not only traded for him at last year’s Trade Deadline, but signed him to a five-year, $25 million extension after their Playoff run. In fact, there were many trade rumors surrounding Fleury this past offseason, though nothing came to fruition.
The Vegas Golden Knights should be feeling very fortunate that they were unable to work out a trade, as the 36-year-old Fleury looks better than ever this season. He has been forced to play 23 of their 31 games due to Lehner missing time with a concussion, and has been fantastic during that time with a 2.06 Goals Against Average (GAA) along with a .927 Save Percentage (SV%) and a 16-7-0 record.
With Lehner recently being cleared to play and making his return last Friday night, Fleury’s Vezina Trophy status may take a bit of a hit depending on how Head Coach Pete DeBoer chooses to deploy them, but there is no doubt that to this point he has been one of the best goalies in the entire National Hockey League.
2. Philipp Grubauer – Colorado Avalanche
Through his first two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche after being acquired in a trade from the Washington Capitals, many were unsure Philipp Grubauer was the goalie who could lead this team to a Stanley Cup. It wasn’t that his past two seasons were horrible, but he struggled with injuries and was just average when he was healthy.
Many suggested that with his contract set to expire at the end of this season, the team would be best to let him walk and go with Pavel Francouz, who by all accounts was the better of the two last season.
This is Grubauer's crease, and everyone is just living in it.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/VVIJGQ78L6
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 26, 2021
However, this year has been a completely different story. The Avs have been forced to rely on Grubauer heavily as Francouz has yet to play due to a lower-body injury. He has appeared in 27 of their 32 games and has simply been fantastic, posting a league-leading 1.69 GAA amongst goalies who have played 10 or more games, paired with a .931 SV% and a 20-7-0 record.
Any questions regarding the 29-year-old’s future with this team have certainly been erased, and General Manager Joe Sakic will have to do everything he can to get him re-signed, with Grubauer an Unrestricted Free Agent after this season and likely to command more than his current $3,333,333 cap hit.
With Francouz’ return not appearing to be any time soon, Philipp Grubauer will continue to be heavy relied on going forward. If he is able to keep up his play with this heavy of a workload, he has a great shot to win the Vezina Trophy come the end of the 2020-21 season.
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning
Over the years, there have been critics of Andrei Vasilevskiy’s who believe the goaltender’s personal success has more to do with the team in front of him rather than his own abilities. While playing for a team as good as the Tampa Bay Lightning would certainly be beneficial to any goalie, it is still pretty clear that the 26-year-old is in a class of his own when it comes to NHL netminders.
The Lightning are non-surprisingly leading the entire league in points through 33 games played with 50, and Vasilevskiy is a huge reason for that. He owns a ridiculous record which includes a league best 21 wins to go with just five losses, while also sporting a 1.91 Goals Against Average and a league-leading stellar .932 Save Percentage. Given that he has been the NHL’s best for a number of years now, we shouldn’t expect those numbers, as ridiculous as they are, to regress a whole lot.
At this point, Vasilevskiy is the favorite to win the Vezina, which would mark the second time he has won the award, having won it back in 2018-19. One pretty telling stat that proves playing for the Lightning isn’t the only reason for his outstanding numbers is the play of his backup, Curtis McElhinney, who in eight games has a cringeworthy 3.16 GAA and a .880 SV%. Make no mistake, Vasilevskiy is the best goalie in the world right now and is playing like it so far this season.
Next. Maple Leafs need to figure out goaltending. dark
Exciting Race
As mentioned above, there is still plenty of the season left to go, meaning any of the three listed above could fall off the list entirely by the time the year is over, and a new candidate(s) could emerge. The one thing this has shown is that you never know what can happen in the NHL, as many would have given you a pretty odd look if you had mentioned prior to the season that Marc-Andre Fleury and Philipp Grubauer would be in the Vezina Trophy hunt at the midway point of the season.
Honorable Mentions: Mike Smith (EDM), Semyon Varlamov (NYI), Calvin Petersen (LAK)