One of the league’s awards that are awarded purely on statistics, a team typically also needs a great defense in order to capture the award for their goaltenders.
The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs are officially in the late stages, with the Conference Finals round well underway as the Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes battle for one of the most coveted trophies in sports.
While four teams and their fans are wholly locked in on playoff action, fans of the league’s other 28 teams are looking ahead to the NHL Draft, offseason free agency and hopefully a brighter future for their club.
Although the NHL Awards await upon the conclusion of this year’s Stanley Cup Final, a few of the awards are already settled, thanks to purely empirical criteria for a small handful of the honors.
Among the statistical awards is the Art Ross Trophy and Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy, which are handed out each season to the league’s leader in overall points and goals, respectively.
From a defensive standpoint, the league’s statistical award comes in the form of the William M. Jennings Trophy, which awards the goaltender/s that allow the fewest goals against over the course of the grueling 82-game regular season.
The trophy has existed in its modern form since the 1981-82 season, with the Vezina Trophy serving as the award’s statistically-based equivalent prior to 1982. Since then, the Vezina Trophy, which is awarded to the league’s best goaltender, has been voted on by the NHL’s general managers.
While the award typically honors a starting goaltender, the Jennings Trophy is often shared in many seasons – as a backup goaltender who plays at least 25 games is also eligible for the award, making the honor a good glimpse into the best goaltending tandems in recent memory.
As of the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, 20 of the league’s 32 teams have had a goalie or goalie tandem win the award on at least one occasion, with ties occurring in several seasons since the advent of the accolade in the early 1980’s.
The following 12 teams have yet to have a netminder take home the honor:
- Seattle Kraken
- Utah Mammoth
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Florida Panthers
- Ottawa Senators
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- New York Rangers
- Nashville Predators
- Edmonton Oilers
- San Jose Sharks
As for the other 20 clubs in the league, here’s a look at their latest win of the award, beginning with the most recent occurrences:
- Colorado Avalanche: 2025-26, Mackenzie Blackwood/Scott Wedgewood
- Winnipeg Jets: 2024-25, Connor Hellebuyck
- Boston Bruins: 2022-23, Linus Ullmark/Jeremy Swayman
- Carolina Hurricanes: 2021-22, Frederik Andersen/Antti Raanta
- Vegas Golden Knights: 2020-21, Marc-Andre Fleury/Robin Lehner
- New York Islanders: 2018-19, Thomas Greiss/Robin Lehner
- Los Angeles Kings: 2017-18, Jonathan Quick
- Washington Capitals: 2016-17, Braden Holtby
- Anaheim Ducks: 2015-16, Frederik Andersen/John Gibson
- Montreal Canadiens: 2014-15, Carey Price*
- Chicago Blackhawks: 2014-15, Corey Crawford*
- St. Louis Blues: 2011-12, Jaroslav Halak/Brian Elliott
- Vancouver Canucks: 2010-11, Roberto Luongo/Cory Schneider
- New Jersey Devils: 2009-10, Martin Brodeur
- Detroit Red Wings: 2007-08, Chris Osgood/Dominik Hasek
- Minnesota Wild: 2006-07, Niklas Backstrom/Manny Fernandez
- Calgary Flames: 2005-06, Miikka Kiprusoff
- Philadelphia Flyers: 2002-03, Roman Cechmanek/Robert Esche*
- Buffalo Sabres: 2000-01, Dominik Hasek
- Dallas Stars: 1998-99, Ed Belfour/Roman Turek
*denotes a tie for the award between two goaltending tandems
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