What would a Vezina mean to Fleury?
Jesse Granger, Golden Knights beat writer: Winning a Vezina Trophy is about the only thing Fleury hasn’t accomplished in his illustrious career.
He’s been to five Stanley Cup Finals (with two different teams) and hoisted the Cup three times. He’s third all-time in wins by a goalie, sixth in playoff wins and fourth in playoff shutouts. But despite all of that success, this is the first time he’s ever been a finalist for the Vezina.
He posted a career-high save percentage (.928) and a career-low goals against average (1.98) at the age of 36. Fleury is far more concerned with team accomplishments, but a Vezina win would complete his personal trophy case and serve as the cherry on top of a career that’s almost certain to end in the Hall of Fame.
Who is the favorite?
Scott Burnside, NHL senior writer: The biggest drama surrounding the Vezina was never going to be about who wins — Vasilevskiy is the clear front-runner given his workload and statistical dominance in almost every meaningful category — but rather what other goaltenders were going to join him as a finalist.
Kudos to a future Hall of Famer in Fleury and Grubauer for being those goalies, although frankly Juuse Saros or Mike Smith were just as deserving given the load they carried for their teams in Nashville and Edmonton, respectively. But that’s quibbling and in the end, it likely won’t matter since the other two finalists are just keeping Vasilevskiy company until he collects the hardware.
The analytical view
Dom Luszczyszyn, NHL analytics writer: There’s no surprise with either Vasilevskiy or Fleury’s nomination. They were the top two goalies all season in terms of goals saved above expected, and though Vasilevskiy’s numbers did wane down the stretch, he still finished third among starters.
Grubauer’s numbers were top five for much of the year, but the workload caught up to him and he struggled a bit down the stretch. His nomination feels more like it was based on the team in front of him than his own play
(Photo: Jeff Curry / USA Today)
