NHL EDGE stats: Vezina Trophy race wide open

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we look at the advanced metrics behind three goalie standouts who could be Vezina Trophy contenders.

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The Vezina Trophy race is heating up, and, even with the recent return of back-to-back winner Connor Hellebuyck, there are other contenders who boast strong advanced metrics.

Hellebuyck, who also won the Hart Trophy last season as most valuable player, had knee surgery on Nov. 22 and missed 12 games, opening the door for other candidates.

Logan Thompson, who finished fourth in the Vezina voting last season despite his breakout season (31-6-6 in 43 games), has carried over his success into this season for the Washington Capitals. Ilya Sorokin, who was the Vezina Trophy runner-up in 2023, has helped the New York Islanders get back into Stanley Cup Playoff contention after winning the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and selecting defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick.

Arguably the biggest goalie surprise of the season has been Spencer Knight of the Chicago Blackhawks. Among the 16 goalies who have played at least 20 games this season, Knight ranks third in save percentage (.916) behind Thompson (.926) and Wedgewood (.919). Knight, who was the 13th pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers before being acquired by the Blackhawks last season, has had a breakout performance after having a .904 save percentage in 95 career games prior to this season.

Here are underlying metrics that further suggest these three goalies deserve Vezina Trophy consideration through the first two months of the season:

1. Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals

The 28-year-old ranks second in the NHL in high-danger save percentage (.881) behind Dennis Hildeby of the Toronto Maple Leafs (.883) among qualifying goalies. Among goalies who have played at least 10 games, Thompson is also third in 5-on-5 save percentage (.941) behind Minnesota Wild rookie Jesper Wallstedt (.947) and Hildeby (.945).

In terms of starts with greater than a .900 save percentage this season, Thompson is tied with Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers for the NHL lead (17 each). With the support of the Capitals offense, which ranks third in goals per game (3.39), Thompson has the second-best goal differential (plus-29) among goalies behind Wedgewood (plus-30).

2. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders

Since entering the NHL in 2020-21, Sorokin is tied with Hellebuyck for the most shutouts in the NHL (25 each) and has reached that mark in 38 fewer games than Hellebuyck. Sorokin is also tied for second in save percentage (.916) over the past six seasons behind Hellebuyck (.918) among goalies who have played at least 100 games in that span.

This season, the 30-year-old leads the NHL in high-danger saves (​​185) and ranks sixth in high-danger save percentage (.856; minimum 10 games). Sorokin has led the Islanders to signature wins against many of the NHL’s elite teams this season, twice against the Vegas Golden Knights, once against the Avalanche, twice against the Lightning and once against the Capitals.

3. Spencer Knight, Chicago Blackhawks

The 24-year-old ranks fourth in high-danger save percentage (.871; minimum 10 games) this season behind Hildeby, Thompson and Brandon Bussi of the Carolina Hurricanes. and second in high-danger saves (169) behind Sorokin. In terms of long-range saves, only Shesterkin (152) has had more than Knight (150).

Knight also ranks highly in 5-on-5 save percentage in close situations (.953; tied for fourth), meaning when the game is tied in the first or second period, or within one goal in the third. On shots from the middle regions of the ice (high-danger plus midrange plus long-range), Knight ranks third in saves (452) behind Shesterkin (499) and Juuse Saros (474).

NOTE: Elite forward Connor Bedard sustained an upper-body injury and is expected to be out at least through the end of December. This could impact Knight's goal support for the surprising Blackhawks, who are just outside the Western Conference wild-card picture. It’s worth noting that, under the current voting procedures (since 1981-82), the only Vezina Trophy winner from a non-playoff team was Sergei Bobrovsky (with Columbus Blue Jackets) in 2012-13 (48-game season).