Jacob Markstrom, Juuse Saros, and Igor Shesterkin were announced Tuesday as finalists for the NHL’s 2021-22 Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the “goaltender who is adjudged to be the best at this position.”
All three goalies are first-time finalists in this category.
The league’s 32 general managers vote on the Vezina. The winner of each 2022 NHL award will be revealed during the conference final and Stanley Cup Final, on dates and times to be announced.
Markstrom of the Calgary Flames is coming off a career-best regular season, setting personal highs in wins (27), save percentage (.922), GAA (2.22) and games played (63). The 32-year-old also led the NHL in shutouts with nine, surpassing in a single season the total number of shutouts he had registered 2010-20 (8).
Markstrom played a major role in Calgary securing its Pacific Division title with a 111-point season, most for the Flames since 1988-89. He is Calgary’s first Vezina finalist since Miikka Kiprusoff in 2007; Kiprusoff was the last Flames goalie to earn the award, in 2006.
Saros of the Nashville Predators was one of the NHL’s busiest goaltenders this season. He logged the most minutes in a league-high 67 starts and faced the second-most shots of any netminder, while earning the second-most wins (38) to complement a .921 SV% and 2.64 GAA.
Saros would be the second netminder in Predators history to win the Vezina, after Pekka Rinne took home the trophy in 2018-19. When Rinne retired before the 2021-22 season, he left Nashville’s crease in Saros’ hands, and the 27-year-old at times single-handedly held the Predators in playoff contention throughout their up-and-down campaign.
Shesterkin crafted one of the most dominant seasons by a goalie in recent memory. Shesterkin was the New York Rangers‘ MVP throughout most of the season, leading the way among league starters in SV% (.935) and GAA (2.07) to go with a 36-13-4 record. No goaltender with more than six starts in 2021-22 surpassed that .930 SV% mark, a sign of how strong Shesterkin’s play was amid the highest-scoring NHL season in 26 years.
Shesterkin would be the sixth Rangers goalie to win the Vezina and the first since Henrik Lundqvist in 2012.