2019 Vezina Trophy Odds Tracker
- Who are the top contenders for the 2019 NHL Vezina Trophy?
- Look at odds for individual players, plus additional league and conference-specific trends from past years
- Track, visualize, and interact with a player’s odds as they get longer and shorter throughout the 2018-19 NHL season
The Vezina Trophy is awarded at the conclusion of every season to the goaltender deemed to be the best at his position. In contrast Hart Trophy, NHL general managers are the sole voters on the Vezina Trophy.
We’ll be tracking odds available at a range of online sportsbook all year long, providing you with up to date coverage on how futures odds shift for different goaltenders around the league.
NHL Vezina Trophy Top 5 Contenders (September 27th, 2018)
| Player | Bovada Odds (9/27/2018) |
|---|---|
| Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets) | +450 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning) | +500 |
| Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets) | +500 |
| John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks) | +800 |
| Braden Holtby (Washington Capitals) | +900 |
The Vezina Trophy is a perennially unpredictable award, perhaps more so than any other major award in the NHL. It’s almost impossible to predict which goaltender is poised to have a heroic season, as goaltenders, more so than any other position in the NHL, are prone to large swings in their play from season to season.
That being said, there are only a handful of elite goaltenders in the NHL who have the potential to win the award. More often than not, goalies who win the Vezina Trophy play in front of a competent defense core, and an above average playoff team. The sole exception to this was in the lockout-shortened 2012-2013 season when Sergei Bobrovsky won the Vezina despite the Blue Jackets failing to qualify for the post-season.
The de facto favorite heading into the 2018-2019 season is Sergei Bobrovsky. He’s heading into a contract year, and he’s got the luxury of playing behind a Columbus team that plays excellent team defense under the tutelage of head coach John Tortorella. He’s a good a bet as anyone to win the Vezina, and he’s one of the league’s most consistent goaltenders.
However, we really like John Gibson’s odds at +800. Only 25 and fresh off an 8-year, $51.2M contract, John Gibsons’s career save percentage of .923 is the highest of any goalie to appear in at least 150 games since the 1955-1956 season. Yes, that means he’s edged out the likes of Ken Dryden, Dominik Hasek, and Tuukka Rask. Gibson is young, possesses the most raw talent in the league, and has one of the best top-4 defenses in the league in front of him. We’d take a chance on him at +800.
In the early goings, Gibson looks dominant. He’s won 3 of his first 4 starts and posted a .955. He’s poised to live up to his hype.
NHL Vezina Trophy Trends to Consider
- Eight out of the last 10 Vezina Trophy winners had played in the Eastern Conference (The Columbus Blue Jackets were in the Western Conference in 2012-2013, when Sergei Bobrovsky won.)
- It’s almost impossible for players to win the Vezina Trophy if their teams don’t make the playoffs. Again, this hasn’t happened since Sergei Bobrovsky in 2013 and only four times in this history of the league, and that was the only time its happened in modern NHL history.
- Its essential for the Vezina winner to have a competent backup. No Vezina winner in the last 10 years has exceeded 69 games played. In today’s NHL, rest is a key factor to a goaltender being able to maintain a consistently high level of play, and in order for this to happen a team needs to be able to rely on their backup goaltender to win games.
2019 Vezina Trophy Odds For Players on Canadian Teams
Connor Hellebuyck has a real chance to win the Vezina this year, but the Price, Andersen, and Smith are long shots. The Canadiens are rebuilding, Toronto’s will score a lot but their wide-open style of play will likely lead Andersen bleeding goals against, and Smith will be 37 (with a lengthy injury history) by mid-season. No one except the Jets’ phenom is a legitimate contender.
2019 Vezina Trophy Odds for Previous Winners
Winning more than one Vezina trophy isn’t as rare as you might think, as six different players have done it since 1981 (the modern era), and two players, Tim Thomas, and Sergei Bobrovsky, have accomplished this feat in the last ten years. This year, we think Sergei Bobrovsky has a chance to repeat, but the other names on the board have an outside shot at best.
History bodes poorly for players coming off a cup win, such as Braden Holtby; Price’s Canadiens are in shambles; Rinne is aging and has the uber-talented Jusse Saros pushing him for playing time; Tuukka Rask’s play has become significantly more erratic since his first and only Vezina in 2014.
2019 Vezina Trophy Odds for Western Conference Players
Our Vezina Trophy value pick, John Gibson, plays in the Western Conference. He’s not the only goalie in the West we’d recommend keeping an eye on, as Marc-Andre Fleury, Martin Jones, and Antii Raanta are all intriguing long-shots for the award.
2019 Vezina Trophy Odds for Eastern Conference Players
As we mentioned above, the majority of Vezina winners end up coming from the east. This season, three out of the five favorites for the Vezina play in the East, and the odds are on the trophy going to an Eastern conference goalie again this season.
Last 10 Vezina Trophy Winners
| Year | Player | Games Played | Record | GAA | Save Percentage | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-2018 | Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators) | 59 | 42-13-4 | 2.31 | .927 | 35 |
| 2016-2017 | Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets) | 63 | 41-17-5 | 2.06 | .931 | 29 |
| 2015-2016 | Braden Holtby (Washington Capitals) | 66 | 48-9-7 | 2.20 | .922 | 27 |
| 2014-2015 | Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) | 66 | 44-16-6 | 1.96 | .933 | 27 |
| 2013-2014 | Tuukka Rask (Boston Bruins) | 58 | 36-15-6 | 2.04 | .930 | 27 |
| 2012-2013 | Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets) | 38 (Lockout-Shortened Season) | 21-11-6 | 2.00 | .932 | 25 |
| 2011-2012 | Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers) | 62 | 39-18-5 | 1.97 | .930 | 30 |
| 2010-2011 | Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins) | 57 | 35-11-9 | 2.00 | .938 | 38 |
| 2009-2010 | Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres) | 69 | 41-18-8 | 2.22 | .929 | 30 |
| 2008-2009 | Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins) | 54 | 36-11-7 | 2.10 | .933 | 36 |
The median age of Vezina Trophy winners in the last ten years is 30. The youngest winner over the previous ten years is Sergei Bobrovsky, who was only 25 when he won the Vezina for his outstanding play in the 2012-2013 season.
Players With Multiple Vezina Trophies Since 1981 (Modern Era)
From 1946 to 1981, the Vezina Trophy was awarded to the team that allowed the lowest number of goals over the course of a full NHL season. As such, the goaltender who played the most games for that team took home the Vezina Trophy. As such, the Vezina was regarded as more of a team award than an individual award,
After 1981, the criteria for the award changed. Now, NHL general managers vote on who they believe to be the league’s most dominant goaltender at the conclusion of every season.
| Player | Vezina Trophies | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres) | 6 | 1993-1994, 1994-1995, 1996-1997, 1997-1998, 1998-1999, 2000-2001 |
| Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils) | 4 | 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2006-2007, 2007-2008 |
| Patrick Roy (Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche) | 3 | 1988-1989, 1989-1990, 1991-1992 |
| Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins) | 2 | 2008-2009, 2010-2011 |
| Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets) | 2 | 2016-2017 |
| Ed Belfour (Chicago Blackhawks) | 2 | 1990-1991, 1992-1993, |
If you’re looking for more odds on major NHL individual awards, check out our 2019 Hart Trophy odds tracker.