Whenever the NHL announces nominees for one of its bigger awards, there’s always some debate about whether or not voters got it right.
Unless we’re talking about the Ted Lindsay Award for “most outstanding player” as voted by NHLPA members. They usually get that right.
But this year’s list of Vezina finalists — Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin, Bruins backstopper Jeremy Swayman and Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy — just seems…. off.
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Congrats to each of those guys, and I think there are arguments on each one’s behalf, but there are some players who feel like glaring omissions.
I mean, sure, you have to consider a full body of work, but Sorokin with a .906 save percentage on a team that whiffed on the playoffs and a 29-24-2 record?
Swayman with a slightly better save percentage and a worse GAA?
I’d probably say Vasilevskiy is my pick to win, but we’ve got to address a few snubs.
Dan Vladar – Philadelphia Flyers
Before you say, “Oh, here goes very handsome and funny Matt pumping his Flyers’ tires again,” hear me out.
If you ask me — and a lot of people — there’s no way that the Flyers get past the Penguins or even get into the playoffs had it not been for Vladar.
He signed with the Broad Street Bullies over the summer in a move by GM Danny Briere that seemed fairly unremarkable. He’d been a backup in Calgary with pretty average numbers, though it’s widely believed that was due to being stuck with second halves of back-to-backs and other unfavorable starts.
Well, he proved that he can be a bona fide starter with a 29-14-7 record through the regular season with a .906 save percentage — same as Sorokin — and a better 2.42 GAA, also better than any finalist not named Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Plus, his play down the stretch is what got the Flyers into the postseason.
Maybe it was not having as recognizable a name as the finalists, but the number and results with a Flyers team that is way overperforming, I think that’s a pretty solid case for snubbery.
Logan Thompson – Washington Capitals
If whiffing on the postseason doesn’t count against you, why not consider Washington Capitals backstopper Logan Thompson?
The 29-year-old posted a 31-21-6 record this season while carrying the bulk of the work for the Caps, but did it while posting a .912 save percentage and a 2.44 goals against average, numbers on par with Vasilevskiy.
And, oddly enough, they’re slightly better numbers than what he posted last season when he came in fourth in the Vezina voting.
Maybe it was that the Capitals never really had any high highs and never made much noise this season that left Thompson under the radar and out of the Vezina conversation.
Scott Wedgewood – Colorado Avalanche
One of the weird things about some awards is that it can hurt you to be on a good team, and the Vezina is one of them.
It’s no secret that the Colorado Avalanche were the wagon to end all wagons this season, and won the Presidents’ Trophy, and they needed good goaltending to do it, which they got.
Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood split the net, but it was Wedgewood who posted the better record and better numbers. He had a 31-6-6 record with a .921 save percentage and a 2.02 GAA.
Those numbers seem Vezina-worthy, but because he split the net with Blackwood, he appeared in fewer games than most other starters.
Furthermore, I suspect he gets dinged a bit for playing behind a team as good as the Avalanche, with the thought being that they’re so good both offensively and defensively, it juiced his numbers.
I’m not sure I buy that, but I suspect that’s why the guy backstopping the best team in the NHL got snubbed.
