Every Vezina Trophy winner since the 1981-82 NHL season

The first vote-based winner is a good one, as Smith is a Hall of Famer, and not just because he was the first goalie credited with a goal in the NHL. Taken by the Islanders in the Expansion Draft, he was with the team all the way through the 1988-89 season. Yes, that means he was the goalie for all four of the Cup wins, and one of those years was when Smith won the Vezina. Now, he had a 2.97 GAA and .900 save percentage, but scoring was a lot easier back then. Also, yeah his 32-9-4 record probably played a role in it, because goalie wins, like quarterback wins, used to be a thing.

Peeters didn’t make the Hall of Fame, but he was in four All-Star Games and won a Vezina in a career that lasted over a decade. That’s not too shabby. After starting his career with the Flyers, he won the Vezina in his first season with the Bruins. Peeters won 40 games with a 2.36 GAA and .904 save percentage. Wow, that was some impressive shot prevention in Boston!

Barrasso has one of the craziest starts to a career in NHL history. He was drafted, as a goalie mind you, out of high school by the Sabres. Barrasso didn’t go to juniors. He didn’t go to college. No, Barrasso joined the NHL directly out of high school. As a teenager, he posted a 2.84 GAA and .893 save percentage, which won him not only the Calder for rookie of the year, but the Vezina. No wonder he ended up in the Hall of Fame.

Lindbergh was a workhorse in the 1984-85 season for the Flyers. He made 65 appearances and won 40 games with a 3.02 GAA and .899 save percentage. Then, Lindbergh impressed in the postseason as the Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals (they lost to the Oilers). Unfortunately, early the next season, Lindbergh left a team party with a blood alcohol level more than double the legal limit, crashed into the side of a school, and died the next morning.

“Beezer” had his best years with the Panthers, including that run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, but he spent the bulk of his career with the Rangers. He had a 3.32 GAA and .887 save percentage when he won the Vezina, and he also led the NHL with 31 wins, which probably helped. Again, though, this was a season where six players had over 120 points. Offense was up!

It’s a little surprising that Hextall isn’t in the Hall of Fame. Maybe it’s all the penalties he took? After all, he was the first NHL goalie to score a goal by shooting the puck into the net, he won this Vezina, and he also won the Conn Smythe once. In fact, Hextall is one of the rare players who won the Conn Smythe for the team that didn’t win the Cup. Both of those happened in the 1986-87 season, which was also Hextall’s rookie season. And yet, no Calder! It went to Luc Robitaille and his 45 goals for the Kings.

Fuhr had a long NHL career, played in 868 regular season games, and would eventually play for a few different teams. However, Fuhr wisely stuck around in Edmonton through the 1980s. He backstopped four of the five Cup winners for the Oilers, and was the backup goalie for the fifth. When he won the Vezina, it may have been for sheer quantity. Fuhr played in a whopping 75 games, and got 40 wins.

Arguably the greatest goalie of all time, Roy won the Conn Smythe as a rookie, and a few years later would win his first Vezina. Playing for the Canadiens, Roy had a 2.47 GAA and .908 save percentage in the 1988-89 campaign, as his butterfly style of goaltending helped change the NHL and helped end the era of the standup goalie. Yeah, goalies used to stand most of the time.

Roy is not just the first back-to-back winner of the Vezina of the voting era, but the first goalie with multiple Vezinas in general. The first winner of the 1990s, Roy had a worse record, but that didn’t get in his way. He made six more appearances, had a 2.53 GAA, and had a .912 save percentage. That wouldn’t be a bad save percentage these days, much less then.

Belfour, like Barrasso, is a Hall of Famer, but his path to success was slightly less straightforward. After three years in juniors, Belfour went to college, where he was a 21-year-old freshman. Then, he spent time in the IHL, and with the Canadian national team. Belfour didn’t take over as Chicago’s starting goalie until the 1990-91 season. By that point, though, he hit the ground running. Belfour won the goaltending “Triple Crown,” leading the league in wins, GAA, and save percentage. That helped him win both the Vezina and the Calder.

Roy would have several more strong seasons, both with Montreal and Colorado, but he won his third and final Vezina in the 1991-92 campaign. It’s a little surprising he won all three of his Vezinas so quickly, and then went years without another. Scoring was not as high as it was in the ‘80s, but we weren’t in the neutral-zone trap era yet, so Roy’s 2.36 GAA and .914 save percentage were both impressive.

Speaking of great goalies that had long successful careers after winning what turned out to be their final Vezina, Belfour won his second in 1993 at the end of his third season in the NHL. “Eddie the Eagle” would play all the way until the 2006-07 season, but he had to settle for two Vezinas. This season wasn’t as impressive as his first Vezina victory, but he still had 41 wins, 2.59 GAA, and a .906 save percentage.

A big part of why Roy and Belfour didn’t win anymore Vezinas? The rise of Hasek, also in the running for the best goalie of all time. Originally with Chicago, you might wonder how that franchise didn’t see what it had in Hasek. To be fair, though, he was a backup even in his first season with Buffalo. Then, suddenly, Hasek took off and was a star. He led the NHL with a fantastic 1.95 GAA and .930 save percentage. Those are paradigm-changing numbers.

The 1994-95 season was the lockout-shortened campaign, so Hasek only appeared in 41 contests. They were quite strong outings, though. Once again he led the NHL with a .930 save percentage, and the Sabres legend managed five shutouts in the abbreviated campaign.

Among outliers, Carey is one of the biggest NHL award outliers there is. He debuted with the Capitals during the 1994-95 season and impressed with a 2.13 GAA and .913 save percentage. The next year, the goalie — nicknamed “The Mask,” for obvious reasons — won the Vezina. On the one hand, he had a 2.26 GAA. On the other hand, he had a .906 save percentage, which is not terribly good. Arguably, Washington’s defense won Carey the Vezina. No wonder he only played in 73 more NHL games in his career.

Sanity restored! Hasek was great the year that Carey won, but his defense let him down, and his record was below .500. The next year he had 37 wins but also a 2.27 GAA and a .930 save percentage. Clearly, the lesson is that if Hasek had a .930 save percentage he won the Vezina. Oh, and he also won the Hart as league MVP this time around.

Hasek’s fourth Vezina was paired with his second Hart. This was one of the best seasons a goalie has ever had. The Czech netminder led the NHL with 72 games played and also played the most minutes. Not only did he lead the NHL with a .932 save percentage, but he managed a staggering 13 shutouts. That’s how you win an MVP as a goalie.

Jim Carey is the reason Hasek didn’t win six Vezinas in a row. How wild. This was the year that Hasek led the Sabres to the Stanley Cup Finals, and this also might be the best season a goalie has had. While he had “only” nine shutouts, Hasek had an 1.87 GAA and .937 save percentage. Sure, this was the neutral-zone trap era, but a .937 save percentage is inarguably good.

Once again, Hasek’s reign ends thanks to a Capitals goalie. To be fair, Hasek dealt with a groin injury that kept him out half the 1999-2000 season, which opened the door. Kolzig was quite good for Washington, and not just this season. The best goalie in Capitals history, “Ollie the Goalie” made 73 appearances with 41 wins, a 2.24 GAA, and a .917 save percentage.

A sixth, and final, Vezina for Hasek. This was his final season with the Sabres before he moved to the Red Wings to win a couple of Cups. It was the usual from Hasek. He had a 2.11 GAA, a .921 save percentage, and 11 shutouts. Hasek would remain quite good until his final NHL season, when he slipped, but still won a Cup before heading to Europe and later retiring.

Theodore was a solid goalie, finishing his NHL career with 643 games played, a 2.68 GAA, and .909 save percentage. A couple times, though, he really put it all together, and the 2001-02 was one of them. Playing for the Canadiens, Theodore had a 2.11 GAA and .931 save percentage. He won not only the Vezina, but also the Hart.

Another all-time great emerges! Brodeur is also the inverse of Roy and Belfour, in that he was established as a top goalie for years before he finally won a Vezina. In the 2002-03 season the Devils icon had a 2.02 GAA, but a .914 save percentage, because the trap helped quite a bit. Brodeur also led the NHL with 41 wins and nine shutouts.

The next year, Brodeur made up for lost time with a second Vezina. His numbers were slightly better this year, as he had a 2.03 GAA, but a .917 save percentage with 11 shutouts. This Vezina win took the NHL into the lockout-lost season, after which they tried to end the era of the trap, personified by the Devils.

We emerged from the lockout with a Finnish Flame winning the Vezina. Kiprusoff was incredible in his first season with Calgary, and only an injury that limited him to 38 games during the regular season kept him from winning the Vezina (he was still a finalist). Fortunately, the lockout didn’t cause any rust. This time, Kiprusoff made 74 starts and put up a 2.07 GAA, .923 save percentage, and 10 shutouts. He was more erratic the rest of his career, but still got his number retired by the Flames.

Back to Brodeur. He led the NHL with a whopping 78 games played, setting an NHL record for minutes played and wins. Brodeur also had a 2.18 GAA, .922 save percentage, and 12 shutouts. So, it turns out it wasn’t all the trap.

Brodeur took home his fourth, and final, Vezina in the 2007-08 season. Once again, he led the NHL in minutes — Brodeur was a true workhorse — and the Devils star had a 2.17 GAA and .920 save percentage. He had a few more good seasons, but not really on this level.

Thomas had an unexpected path to stardom. He didn’t debut in the NHL until he was 28. He didn’t become a starting goalie until he was 32. Then, he really started to put it together with the Bruins. Thomas had a 2.10 GAA and .933 save percentage, winning an unlikely Vezina.

Miller played almost 20 years in the NHL, winning 391 games with a career .914 save percentage. Could he make the Hall of Fame? Perhaps. Winning his one Vezina certainly helps his case. His 41 wins may have mattered to some voters, but his 2.22 GAA and .929 save percentage sufficed for the Sabres goalie.

Thomas did it again. He was even better this season, as he had a 2.00 GAA and .938 save percentage with nine shutouts. Then he had an 1.98 GAA and .940 save percentage in the playoffs for the Bruins, winning him the Conn Smythe. At 37, he is the oldest Conn Smythe winner to date.

Freshly inducted intox the Hall of Fame, Lundqvist debuted in the NHL the season after the lockout. Swiftly, “King Henrik” became a Rangers icon. He only ended up winning one Vezina, though. Often one of the league’s top netminders, this time around he had an 1.97 GAA and .930 save percentage for New York. Lundqvist probably deserved more than one Vezina, but at least he got one.

Here’s the first player on this list still active in the NHL. Bobrovsky started his career in Philly, but was then dealt to Columbus. His first season with the Blue Jackets was shortened by the lockout, cutting the season down to 48 games. “Bob” made 38 appearances and had a 2.00 GAA and .932 save percentage. Yeah, he didn’t show that in Philadelphia.

Rask was great for the Bruins, but was also backing up Tim Thomas. Once Thomas moved on, the job was Rask’s. The Finnish goalie posted a 2.04 GAA and .930 save percentage with a league-leading seven shutouts. He retired with a 2.28 GAA and .921 save percentage. The only question is if his 564 games played are enough for him to make the Hall.

Price marked the return of the goaltending Triple Crown in the 2014-15 season. The Canadiens goalie had 44 wins, an 1.96 GAA, and .933 save percentage. Price won a Vezina, and is also to date the most recent goalie to win the Hart.

Another random, one-off winner from the Capitals. Holtby was equally good, or better, in the seasons sandwiching his Vezina win. However, in the 2015-16 season Holtby had 48 wins. Maybe that is what got him over the top.

Think of all the goalies that only won the Vezina once in their career. Bobrovsky has two. No disrespect to “Bob,” but that feels…weird. And yet, it’s hard to argue with his second victory. Still with Columbus, Bobrovsky had 41 wins with a 2.06 GAA and .931 save percentage. A couple years later he’d sign a big contract with the Panthers and, well, he did have a few playoff games that one time!

The inverse of Bobrovsky, Rinne is the most recent winner who is retired. Some guys don’t feel like playing into their forties. The career-long Predator, and the first player to have his number retired by the franchise, Rinne was well into his quality career by the time he won the Vezina. He had a 2.31 GAA and .927 save percentage, but only had one more good season in him before he started to fall off.

It’s a little surprising that Vasilevskiy only has one Cup to date, but he’s young enough he still has time to win another. His track record indicates it is very much possible. Plus, he has those two Cup rings and a Conn Smythe. As to when the Lightning goalie won his Vezina, that came in the 2018-19 season. He had a 2.40 GAA, but a .925 save percentage to go with a league-leading 39 wins.

Hellebuyck is the modern workhorse goalie of the NHL. At a time when number-one goalies often top out at 50 games, the American netminder is often over 60. Hellebuyck only played in 58 games of the 2019-20 campaign, but the season was truncated by COVID-19. The Jets goalie had a 2.57 GAA and .922 save percentage. Scoring was up a bit in the NHL by this point.

Fleury is a goalie from a bygone era. He was drafted first overall in the NHL Draft, which simply doesn’t happen with goalies anymore. Also, he played before the lockout, the last active goalie for which that was true. Fleury was a longtime Penguin, and won three Cups with them, but no Vezina. He was then selected in the Expansion Draft when the Vegas Golden Knights joined the NHL. It turned out Fleury still had a lot left to give. He won the Vezina in the weird COVID-19 season, but his 1.98 GAA and .928 save percentage were both quite impressive, earning Fleury a late-in-career trophy.

Some franchises have fortune smile upon them. For example, the Rangers were able to go right from Lundqvist to Shesterkin, both Vezina winners. The two overlapped briefly, but the Russian took over as the 2020s hit. In his first full NHL season as a starter, Shesterkin had a 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage, immensely impressive numbers.

With the Sabres, Ullmark was solid. He was fine. He was a serviceable starting goalie. Then, he joined the Bruins. In his first season there, he made 41 starts (i.e., half the starts) and had a 2.45 GAA and .917 save percentage. The next year, he still shared a lot of the load with Jeremy Swayman, but the duo were both fantastic. Ullmark only made 49 appearances, but this is the age of goalies getting plenty of rest. Plus, he won 40 of those games with an 1.89 GAA and .938 save percentage, another Triple Crown in net. When you do that, you can get away with 49 starts.