Jets' Hellebuyck claims Vezina Trophy
Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck was awarded the 2019-20 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie, the league announced Monday.
Hellebuyck edged out Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Here's the Vezina BTW. pic.twitter.com/NpCyyQh7KE
- Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 21, 2020
Here's how the three finalists stacked up statistically:
| Stat | Hellebuyck | Vasilevskiy | Rask |
|---|---|---|---|
| GP | 58 | 52 | 41 |
| GAA | 2.57 | 2.56 | 2.12 |
| SV% | .922 | .917 | .929 |
| GSAA | 22.40 | 12.13 | 22.51 |
| SO | 6 | 3 | 5 |
Hellebuyck's season was especially impressive considering Winnipeg's overhaul on defense. Of the club's top-five minutes leaders on the back end in 2018-19, Josh Morrissey was the only returning member this past season.
To put into perspective how bad the Jets were defensively, they ranked 29th in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. In actual goals against per 60 minutes, they ranked 10th, primarily due to Hellebuyck's heroics.
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