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 have emerged as Vezina Trophy contenders.

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The Vezina Trophy race is heating up, with this season's top contenders boasting strong advanced metrics and appearing to surpass back-to-back winner Connor Hellebuyck.

Hellebuyck, who also won the Hart Trophy last season as most valuable player, is 2-6-4 with a .884 save percentage in his first 12 games since returning from his injury absence (had knee surgery in November). This has opened the door for other candidates to contend for the annual award given to the top goalie as voted by NHL general managers.

Arguably the best goalie in the second quarter of this season was Tampa Bay Lightning workhorse Andrei Vasilevskiy, a two-time Stanley Cup champion and the Vezina Trophy winner in 2019. Since Nov. 15, Vasilevskiy is 13-2-0 and ranks fourth in save percentage (.928) and second in goals-against average (1.87) over that span. Vasilevskiy, who also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the 2021 postseason, was the Vezina runner-up to Hellebuyck last season and has been a finalist for the award in five of the past eight seasons.

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 they won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick.

Here are key underlying metrics that further suggest those goalies deserve Vezina consideration past the halfway point in the season:

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

The 31-year-old led the NHL in regular-season wins (37) during the 2025 calendar year, doing so for the third time in his career (others: 2021, 2020), which is the most such seasons among active goalies. Among the 48 goalies who have played at least 17 games this season, Vasilevskiy has the highest combined save percentage against high-danger and midrange shots faced (.885). With the support of the Lightning's elite offense, Vasilevskiy ranks third in goal differential (plus-34) behind the Colorado Avalanche goalie tandem of Scott Wedgewood (plus-38) and Mackenzie Blackwood (plus-37).

Vasilevskiy (18-7-2 this season) has a chance to secure his ninth straight 30-win season and join Martin Brodeur (12 straight from 1995-96 to 2007-08) as the only goalies in NHL history to accomplish that feat. The Lightning have won 10 straight games and earned points in 13 of their past 15 games (12-2-1) since Dec. 9.

Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals

The 28-year-old ranks third among qualifying goalies in midrange save percentage (.927) behind Scott Wedgewood (.944) and Jake Allen (.940). Among goalies who have played at least 20 games, Thompson is fifth in both 5-on-5 save percentage (.926) and in 5-on-5 save percentage in close situations (.933), meaning when a game is tied in the first or second period or within one goal in the third period.

In terms of quality starts (those with greater than a .900 save percentage) this season, Thompson (22) is one behind NHL leader Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers (23). The Capitals have scored 97 goals with Thompson in net this season, tied for the second-most among goalies behind Karel Vejmelka of the Utah Mammoth (114).

Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders

Since entering the NHL in 2020-21, Sorokin leads the NHL in shutouts (26) with one more than Hellebuyck (25) despite playing in 45 fewer games than Hellebuyck. Sorokin, who has already has the most shutouts in Islanders history, is also tied for second in save percentage over the past six seasons (.916) behind Hellebuyck (.917) among goalies who have played at least 100 games over that span.

This season, the 30-year-old leads the NHL in both high-danger save percentage (.877; minimum 15 games) and high-danger saves saves (235). Sorokin has led the Islanders to signature wins against many of the NHL’s elite teams this season, three times against the Lightning, twice against the Vegas Golden Knights, and once each against the Avalanche, Capitals and Minnesota Wild.