The NHL’s premier award for goaltenders, many of the game’s greatest netminders of all-time have at least one Vezina Trophy to their name.
With the Stanley Cup Playoffs now in full swing as the attention of hockey fans has fully shifted to the postseason, one more order of business awaits after this year’s Stanley Cup is awarded.
Excluding trophies like the William M. Jennings Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy, which are awarded based on statistical achievements, the rest of the league’s awards are handed out at an annual awards ceremony, typically taking place in late June after the conclusion of the Cup Final.
While much of the attention each year focuses on the Hart Memorial Trophy, the league’s equivalent to an MVP award, several other awards capture the attention of fans and media alike each year – with one of the more notable awards being the Vezina Trophy.
Named after Georges Vezina, a Montreal Canadiens goaltender who played for the team through the 1910’s and 1920’s before his death from tuberculosis in 1926, the Vezina Trophy was first awarded following the 1926-27 season.
While today’s iteration of the Vezina Trophy is voted on by league media members and revealed after the end of each season, the trophy was previously awarded on empirical standards.
Prior to the 1981-82 season, the trophy was given to the starting goaltender who allowed the fewest goals, with that goalie needing to play 25 or more games to be eligible from 1965 to 1981. That method has since been used for the William M. Jennings Trophy, which is awarded to the goalie or goalie tandem that allowed the fewest goals all season.
Although the award is often seen as the greatest achievement a goaltender could accomplish, there have been five occasions where a goaltender has won the Hart Memorial Trophy and Vezina Trophy in the same season – most recently occurring just last year, as Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets won both awards.
Legendary Canadiens goalie Jacques Plante still holds the all-time record with seven wins of the award, while Bill Durnan and Dominik Hašek have each won six times.
With players like Hašek, Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur dominating the award for several years, only half of the league’s 32 teams have had a goaltender win the award since the current system for the Vezina Trophy was adopted for the 1981-82 season.
Even taking the award’s previous history into consideration, just 19 teams have had a player win the award since its establishment in the mid-1920’s – largely owing to the dominance of a select few goalies in each era.
The following teams have never had a player win a Vezina Trophy:
- Ottawa Senators
- Florida Panthers
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Colorado Avalanche
- Dallas Stars
- Minnesota Wild
- Utah Mammoth
- Anaheim Ducks
- San Jose Sharks
- Los Angeles Kings
- Seattle Kraken
- Vancouver Canucks
Beginning with the most recent wins, here’s a look at the last time each team in the NHL had a player win the Vezina Trophy:
- Winnipeg Jets: 2024-25, Connor Hellebuyck
- Boston Bruins: 2022-23, Linus Ullmark
- New York Rangers: 2021-22, Igor Shesterkin
- Vegas Golden Knights: 2020-21, Marc-Andre Fleury
- Tampa Bay Lightning: 2018-19, Andrei Vasilevskiy
- Nashville Predators: 2017-18, Pekka Rinne
- Columbus Blue Jackets: 2016-17, Sergei Bobrovsky
- Washington Capitals: 2015-16, Braden Holtby
- Montreal Canadiens: 2014-15, Carey Price
- Buffalo Sabres: 2009-10, Ryan Miller
- New Jersey Devils: 2007-08, Martin Brodeur
- Calgary Flames: 2005-06, Miikka Kiprusoff
- Chicago Blackhawks: 1992-93, Ed Belfour
- Edmonton Oilers: 1987-88, Grant Fuhr
- Philadelphia Flyers: 1986-87, Ron Hextall
- New York Islanders: 1981-82, Billy Smith
- St. Louis Blues: 1968-69, Glenn Hall/Jacques Plante
- Toronto Maple Leafs: 1964-65, Johnny Bawer/Terry Sawchuk
- Detroit Red Wings: 1954-55, Terry Sawchuk
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