Ranking the 2013-14 Vezina Trophy Candidates
The Vezina Trophy is given to the goalie whom the 30 NHL general managers judge to be the best at the position.
But what makes a netminder the best in the league? Is it his goals-against average, save percentage, number of wins or shutouts? Is it more than a numbers game? How does the quality of the team in front of the netminder affect opinion, or should it play into consideration at all?
Consistency could be key for some, while clutch saves might sway others jotting names down at the end of the year.
There are plenty of quality goaltenders this season. Click through to see the merits and questions of the top candidates for the 2013-14 campaign.
Honorable Mentions
1 of 10
Corey Crawford (Chicago Blackhawks)
Itās tough to leave the defending Stanley Cup winning goalie out of the top tier, but his team is so talented and his play so generic, he probably won't warrant much consideration from the GMs as the leagueās top goaltender. The Blackhawks netminder could earn another Cup ring and stick them in his ears Patrick Roy style so he canāt hear any negative talk, though.
Josh Harding (Minnesota Wild)
Early this season, it looked as if Harding might be the runaway winner in this category, but battling multiple sclerosis proved to be a more difficult job than stopping pucks for the Wild. His numbers are stellarābetter than the rest of the competitionābut his health didnāt allow him to play enough games to warrant votes for the trophy.
Ryan Miller (St. Louis Blues)
If Miller had been with the Blues all season long, he might be in the top three. His .923 save percentage is right at the top with other full-time starters, and considering he toiled for the league's cellar dwellers most of the season, the former Buffalo Sabres backstop's 2.57 goals-against average isn't all that bad.
Ben Scrivens (Edmonton Oilers)
If Scrivens played for anyone other than the Oilers, he might actually win some games. Many of the half-dozen he has won since coming over in the trade with the Los Angeles Kings have been because of heroic efforts. His .931 save percentage is the best in the NHL for goalies who have played at least 30 games, and he has posted that total with both the Oilers and Kings this year.
9. Marc-Andre Fleury
2 of 10
Why he's worthy
Marc-Andre Fleury is tied for second in wins with 34, and his goals-against average of 2.39 is respectable. With a save percentage of .915āhigher than his career average of .910āFleury is playing as well as he has in his career.
Why he won't win
Deserved or not, Fleury has struggled with his playoff reputation since his Stanley Cup victory in 2009. Not that his performance in big games in the postseason should factor into what he's doing this year but votes will be hard to come by for him partially because of his past and the perception he's not a top-flight netminder.
8. Jonathan Bernier (Toronto Maple Leafs)
3 of 10
Why he's worthy
Jonathan Bernier has been the Toronto Maple Leafsā most valuable player this season. Anyone who says Phil Kessel is either Mayor of Toronto or related to Phil Kessel.
Donāt get me wrong, Kessel has been amazing this year, but that only tells you how incredible Bernier has been for a Leafs team that has a porous defense and allows the most shots against per game (36.2) and generates some of the fewest (27.9) and still finds itself in a playoff spot.
Bernier started the year in a bit of a time share with fellow backstop James Reimer but firmly grasped the starterās role within a couple of months. Heās got a 2.61 goals-against average but a top-tier save percentage of .925.
Why he won't win
Bernierāwho is currently out with a groin straināhasn't started or won enough to be considered one of the finalists, although you never know what kind of votes he might get from those sympathetic that the best defensive defenseman in front of him is Dion Phaneuf.
7. Antti Niemi (San Jose Sharks)
4 of 10
Why he's worthy
Heās an Al Davis-worthy goaltender. Antti Niemi just wins, baby. Not a flashy goalie or one who garners much attention overall on the West Coast but Niemi gets the job done for the San Jose Sharks.
Heās up at the top when it comes to wins for goalies this season (35), with a 2.34 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.
Why he won't win
His numbers aside from the wins total don't match the elite numbers put up by the others in the category.
6. Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings)
5 of 10
Why he's worthy
He owns a 2.07 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage and 22 wins in 40 starts for the Los Angeles Kings this season. He was also Team USAās starting goalie at the Winter Olympic Games, and while that doesnāt have anything to do with his NHL performance, itās a fact not lost on voters.
Why he won't win
His groin strain cost him valuable time early in the season, and other goaltendersāBen Scrivens and Martin Jonesāalso had success while he was out, making it valid to ask whether Quick is a product of coach Darryl Sutterās defensive system or an elite goalie.
5. Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens)
6 of 10
Why he's worthy
Because he backstopped Team Canada to a gold medal at...what? That doesnāt count?
Carey Price has been just about as good for the Montreal Canadiens as the Canadians at the Sochi Games. Heās faced a lot of shots but has a save percentage of .924 and a respectable 2.38 goals-against average while putting together a 28-18-5 record so far to keep the Habs in contention for at least a wild-card spot.
Why he won't win
He went through a rough patch in January, including a stretch during which he allowed 17 goals in four straight losses. His post-Olympic injury also might have derailed any momentum he was building for votes. Also, there are other slightly more impressive candidates to choose from.
4. Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7 of 10
Why he's worthy
For one, heās proving last yearās win in the shortened season wasnāt a total fluke. Sergei Bobrovsky is still one of the leagueās best goaltenders when healthy. He struggled early in the season, and an injury in early December kept him from gaining any kind of a rhythm.
However, since Christmas heās been a man possessed between the pipes, stringing together 17 wins in 25 games and improving his goals-against average to 2.49 on the season and his save percentage to .919.
Without Bobrovskyās strong second half this season, the Blue Jackets donāt stand a chance in the playoff race.
Why he won't win
That first half was just awful. In most fantasy hockey leagues, Bobrovsky became waiver-wire fodder by Christmas, and last yearās Vezina-winning performance was quickly forgotten. Without the consistency of an entire year, the question marks about Bob wonāt go away.
3. Semyon Varlamov (Colorado Avalanche)
8 of 10
Why he's worthy
The performance of the Colorado Avalanche is one of the best storylines of the season, and Semyon Varlamov has been as big a part of that success as the dynamic young forwards offering plenty of goal support.
Varlamovās personal off-ice issues had many wondering what his future might look like, but the Avs remained supportive. The Russian has rewarded the team with consistent and, yes, Vezina-worthy play.
He's in the hunt for most wins on the season by a netminder.
The young and flawed Avs defense allows plenty of chances for opponents, so Varlamovās 2.49 goals-against average isnāt glowing, but his save percentage is an impressive .925.
Why he won't win
Rookie head coach Patrick Roy gets much of the credit for pushing the Avalanche into elite territory this season. Roy is a lock for coach-of-the-year honors, which means Varlamovāon top of the already stiff competition from his peersāmight be losing to his coach in some aspects as well.
2. Ben Bishop (Tampa Bay Lightning)
9 of 10
Why he's worthy
Because the Tampa Bay Lightning lost Steven Stamkos to a broken leg and didnāt fall out of playoff contention. And because the team lost its captain when Martin St. Louis forced a trade out of town and the Bolts are still battling for the second spot in the Atlantic Division.
Ben Bishop has used his 6'7" size and considerable skill to full potential this season, proving Lighting GM Steve Yzerman is a crafty guy for pulling the netminder out of Ottawa in a deal for a fourth-round pick and Cory Conacher, with Conacher now a member of the Buffalo Sabres after the Senators decided he couldnātā cut it on their team and waived him.
Bishopās numbers look just about as good as Raskās, with a 2.17 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.
Why he won't win
In the two-horse race, Bishopās jockey isnāt quite as good or as famous as Raskās. The Bruins are a better team, and that could play into the voting. It's a bit of a coin toss, though, because that same factor could push him past Rask as a better goalie in some minds.
1. Tuukka Rask (Boston Bruins)
10 of 10
Why he's worthy
When you put Tuukka Raskās numbers across the statistical line together, theyāre just better collectively than everyone else in the conversation. His 2.07 goals-against average is as good or better than every one of his competitors who have played at least 40 games this season. The same can be said for his .929 save percentage.
It helps that he plays in Boston, where the Bruins boast the giant Zdeno Chara clearing the crease of bodies and rebounds, but the defensive depth of last yearās Stanley Cup runner-up has suffered with the loss of Andrew Ference to free agency and Dennis Seidenberg to injury. So many nights, the burden is square on Raskās shoulders to shut down the opposition.
He makes many difficult saves look easy and is definitely the favorite to take the trophy at the moment.
Why he won't win
One of the other goalies might have to invent a time machine, go back to the start of the season and hire a goon to whack Raskās knee with a billy club. That, or the leagueās voters feel Ben Bishop did as much or more with a weaker team in front of him.
Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics are from NHL.com and current through March 20, 2014.
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