Holtby wins Vezina
The award is given out annually, voted on by the 30 NHL general managers, to the goalie “adjudged to be the best at this position” during the season. Holtby, 26, got into 66 games in 2015-16 and posted a won-loss record of 48-9-5 with a 2.20 GAA, a .922 save percentage and 3 shutouts.
He led the Capitals to the President’s Trophy for first place with 120 points, 11 up on the Dallas Stars. The Caps season ended in disappointment again however, losing in the second-round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 6 to the eventual Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins.
It marks the fifth consecutive season a first time winner has won the Vezina. The previous four winners were Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Boston Bruin’s Tuukka Rask and the Montreal Canadiens’ Carey Price.
The last time a new winner was crowned in 5 consecutive years was 1984 to 1989 when the Vezina was awarded to the late Pelle Lindbergh (Philadelphia Flyers), followed by John Vanbiesbrouck (New York Rangers), Ron Hextall (Philadelphia), Grant Fuhr (the Edmonton Oilers) and Montreal’s Patrick Roy. Roy went on to win it twice more.
Past Vezina winners
It was first awarded to the league’s best goalie after the 1926-27 season, created in honor of the great goalie Georges Vezina, who had his career and life cut short by tuberculosis. From 1965 until 1981 it was awarded to the goalies from the team that had the fewest goals against.
Since the Vezina was changed back to the best goalie in 1982, the William M. Jennings Trophy was created for the goalies allowing the fewest goals. This season it went to Frederik Andersen and John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks; Andersen was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.
It’s the third time a Caps goalie has won; Jim Carey won in 1996 while Olaf Kolzig won it in 2000. Multiple winners have been the order of the day and in the years it was given to the goalie voted to be the best Jacques Plante, Bill Durnan and Dominik Hasek each won 6 times. Tiny Thompson and Martin Brodeur won it 4 times apiece.
Plante won the award a 7th time while a member of the St. Louis Blues. That win came in 1968-69 when the award was given to the goalies on the team with the fewest goals allowed and was shared with Glen Hall.
Holtby became the seventh NHL goalie in history to post back to back 40 plus win seasons. The other two nominated goalies this year were Jonathan Quick of the L.A. Kings and Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning; neither Quick nor Bishop has won the Vezina but each had been nominated once previously.
It was the first time that Holtby, from Lloydminster, Sask., had ever been nominated.
