Trophy Tracker: Hellebuyck of Jets picked to win Vezina as best goalie

To mark the three-quarter point of the 2024-25 regular season, NHL.com is running its third installment of the Trophy Tracker series this week. Today, we look at the race for the Vezina Trophy, given annually to the top goalie in the NHL as selected NHL general managers.

Connor Hellebuyck is well on his way toward becoming the first goalie since 2008 to win the Vezina Trophy in consecutive seasons.

One of his Winnipeg Jets teammates sees the potential for even more hardware.

"We think he should be in the Hart Trophy conversation," Jets captain Adam Lowry said. "It's very rare you see a goalie there, not since Carey Price (in 2015), and I think he should be."

Hellebuyck is a major reason the Jets have been at or near the top of the NHL standings for much of the season. He leads the NHL with 38 wins and six shutouts and has the best goals-against average (1.99) and save percentage (.927) among goalies to play at least 20 games. Those numbers make him the unanimous favorite to win the Vezina Trophy for the third time (2020, 2023), receiving all 16 first-place votes (80 points) from a 16-person NHL.com voting panel. He also was the unanimous pick for the first quarter and halfway point of the season.

Hellebuyck would be the fourth goalie to win the Vezina in consecutive seasons, joining Patrick Roy (1989-90), Dominik Hasek (1994-95, 1997-99) and Martin Brodeur (2003-04, 2007-08) since NHL general managers began voting on the award in 1982.

"We know what we have," Jets coach Scott Arniel said. "He's a special goalie, and he can win hockey games for you. He's such a prepared guy, just how he goes about his business, whether it's practices and games. He doesn't like to get scored on. And he really wants to be the best."

Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning was second with 57 points. Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals (48 points) was third.

"Obviously there are a lot of elite goaltenders, but I think his work ethic is definitely something which stands out," Jets forward Nino Niederreiter said of Hellebuyck. "He works on his game, and his mental game. He watches a lot of videos. He tries to make sure he's perfect each and every night."

That level of perfection applies to practice, where Jets skaters use the chance to work against arguably the best goalie in the world to make themselves better. It could be a reason why Winnipeg ranks in the top five with 3.47 goals per game.

"He tries to push us every day," Lowry said. "He's chirping on the ice in practice. He's showboating some saves just to bug the guys, make them try a little harder to score, pushing each other to get better. I think the great thing about him is he shows up every day ready to work, ready to get better."

Hellebuyck was good enough to earn the 2024 Vezina Trophy (37 wins, 2.39 GAA, .921 save percentage, five shutouts), but his season ended on a down note when he allowed 24 goals (.870 save percentage) in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a five-game loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

He's been even better this season, and those who know him best believe the attention is well earned.

"Being in Winnipeg and playing with him for so long, we've kind of known his greatness for such a long time, and the body of work of his career has been so spectacular," Lowry said. "He's been unbelievable for us pretty much since he came in. I think now he's playing on the bigger stage, even the 4 Nations [Face-Off], bigger markets got to see what he does for us on a nightly basis. He makes the game look so easy."

Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis): Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, 80 points (16 first-place votes); Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, 57; Logan Thompson, Capitals, 48; Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, 16; Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild, 13; Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche, 9; Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames, 7; Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, 4; Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils, 3; Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings, 3