Vezina finalists

[yave1964]

The NHL announced its three finalists for the Vesina trophy today. They are:

 

Tukka Rask who went 36-15-7 with a .930 save Pct. and led the league with 7 shutouts and had a nice 2.04 goals against.

 

Ben Bishop who broke out this season with 37 wins and a .924 save Pct and a solid 2.23 goals against

 

Semyon Varlamov was the third player, he was a workhorse, leading the league in shots against and was massive at 41-14-6 with a .927 save pct.

 

  Tough crowd. My vote goes to Varlamov, possibly the most valuable player to his own team in the entire league. Wonder if Washington would like to have him back.

[ruxpin]

Lol @ Washington.

Kind of a predictable trio. Man,you'd one is hard. For me, it's easy to eliminate Rask with the idea of "look who he plays behind." But I also think he's actually the best goalie if the three.

If I'm going strictly importance to the team it's down to V and Bishop. Hockey wise it's a tough call. I'm going to say Bishop,though, because I think there may be just enough voters who won't vote for V because of his early/pre-season issues.

In order:

Bishop

Rask

Varlamov

[ruxpin]

Wow, only three have voted but one for each. The split may be indicative of how the actual vote will go

[Polaris922]

I'm with Varlamov. Pure hockey not personal life for my vote.

[ruxpin]

I'm with Varlamov. Pure hockey not personal life for my vote.

That's the way it should be, IMO

[Vanflyer]

Tough crowd. My vote goes to Varlamov, possibly the most valuable player to his own team in the entire league. Wonder if Washington would like to have him back.

 

I was torn. Varly would be a homer pick from me (born in Colorado). 

 

Bishop was a shining star. 

 

But no rock has been more solid than Rask. 

 

Rask this year and Varly will get his in the next couple of years. 

[ihabs1993]

Gotta go with Varly on this one. He was outstanding this year on a young team that no one expected to be where they are and Varlamov is a huge reason why they are there. You can say the same about Bishop, but for my money Varlamov is the better tender. 

About Rask...

It's not like he doesn't belong there because he is probably the most athletic of the three goaltenders. I mean Bishop is mostly a threat because of his size and Varlamov is so sound position wise, but Rask is so athletic that he can abandon his form and make incredible saves. 

The reason he doesn't win it this year is because of this: His back up 

Look at his numbers. Chad Johnson had an incredible year too. Playing in 27 games with the B's this year, Johnson went 17-4-3 with a .925 save percentage and a goals against of 2.10. Johnson also put up 2 shutouts, which ranks him pretty high among back up goaltenders. Why does this matter? It matters because you could put Vesa Toskala in net for Boston, and he could have ok numbers. That's saying something. I don't mean to take anything away from Tuukka here. Honestly, as the Habs gear up to face him and the Bruins in the second round, I think he is going to be a frustrating opponent for Montreal. I just think that when it comes to such an incredible defensive team such as the Bruins, goaltending could be average and they would still have a chance to go deep into the playoffs. Rask will have a few Vezina trophies before his career is through, but it won't happen this year.

[B21]

Gotta go Rask.  Based on the eye test they are all deserving but Rask has the lowest GAA, highest Save% and most shutouts.