Marc-Andre Fleury, Andrei Vasilievskiy and Philipp Grubauer have been named the three finalists for the 2021 Vezina Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top goaltender.
Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Vasilevskiy earns a Vezina nomination for the fourth straight year, the 26-year-old having tied his career-best save percentage with a .925 for the defending champs, along with a career-best 2.21 goals-against average, five shutouts, and the most wins (31) of any NHL netminder for the fourth consecutive season. Vasilevskiy claimed the trophy in 2019, finishing third in voting in 2018 and 2020. The last goaltender to earn four straight Vezina nominations was Martin Brodeur, who earned five from 2003 to 2008.
The veteran Fleury earns the first Vezina nomination of his career in his 17th season, at age 36. After a 13-year run in Pittsburgh that saw him contribute to three Stanley Cup wins, Fleury put forth one of the best seasons of his career when he arrived in Vegas in 2017-18, finishing fifth in Vezina voting. His career-best .927 save percentage that season was topped only by his .928 this season, accompanied by a career-best 1.98 gaols-against average and six shutouts. Combining with Robin Lehner to earn the William M. Jennings Trophy this year, Fleury also moved to third in all-time wins by a big-league goaltender.
Grubauer earns his first career nomination as well, after tying for the league lead with seven shutouts to guide the Colorado Avalanche to their first Presidents’ Trophy in two decades. The 29-year-old is in his third season backstopping the Avalanche, after a six-year run with the Washington Capitals. Grubauer is the third Avs goalie to be named a Vezina finalist — after Patrick Roy and Semyon Varlamov — and looks to become the franchise’s first winner. Aside from his sterling shutout total, the 29-year-old also finished second in the league in wins (30) and goals-against average (1.95), both marks ranking as personal bests.
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