In this edition of the hotstove, we share our picks to win the Vezina Trophy in 2021.
Todd Cordell
Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Vasi is the only goaltender in the NHL to rank top-6 in save percentage above expected in each of the last two seasons, per MoneyPuck.com. Tampa Bay doesn’t give up a ton in front of him, but he’s one of the game’s best at covering up any problems that arise.
As if being an elite goaltender on the league’s best team doesn’t do enough for his Vezina chances, I think Vasilevskiy stands to greatly benefit from next season’s schedule.
Tampa Bay is expected to share a division with Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Florida, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.
Outside of Pittsburgh, which team scares you offensively? St. Louis sans Vladimir Tarasenko? Florida, after losing Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman? Chicago and their five good players? There really isn’t much to worry about here.
I see a lot of wins, and shutouts, in Vasilevskiy’s future. He may not be an exciting pick, but I think he is the right one.
Sean Maloughney Carter Hart.
Any goalie can have a hot season and the young Carter Hart at 22 years old is already well on his way to having a successful starter career.
Last season the Flyers were already one of the top 10 best teams for limiting goals against and it isn't unreasonable to suggest Hart will only continue to improve; and especially in a shortened season he should be well rested while handling a bulk of the games.
Fun fact if Hart did win the Vezina, he would actually end up being the youngest player in NHL history to win the award, beating out when Bobrovsky did so in 2013 at the age of 24.
Recent posts