Vezina Trophy winner for 2024-25 season debated by NHL.com

The NHL’s offseason business is close to finished with most free agents having been signed. Training camps loom in less than three weeks and the landscape of the League has changed with new faces in new places. Heck, even the team landscape has changed with the Arizona Coyotes being relocated to Salt Lake City and becoming the Utah Hockey Club.

With that in mind, we asked NHL.com staffers to look into their crystal balls and do some prognosticating on the League’s major awards. Today, it’s the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the League’s best goaltender. Here, in alphabetical order, were the selections.

Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers

Not that the 35-year-old needs more motivation entering this season as he’s coming off winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career with the Panthers (first Cup title in their history too), but Bobrovsky is rolling right now. So, why not add another Vezina Trophy win to the collection? The Panthers lineup experienced a few post-Cup changes, but not many. Bobrovsky has been a finalist for the Vezina three times, including last season. He’s won twice, with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2012-13 and 2016-17. If he can equal or better last season’s numbers (36-17-4, 2.37 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and six shutouts in 58 starts), he’ll have his name etched on the trophy again. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks

The 28-year-old was outstanding for the Canucks last season and was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. Demko had a 35-14-2 record in 51 games last season, all starts, with a 2.45 GAA, a .918 save percentage and five shutouts. Unfortunately for Vancouver, Demko was injured in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and limited to one game. He is entering his sixth full season with the Canucks and if he can stay healthy, he’s capable of putting together another campaign worthy of a Vezina Trophy nomination. Demko is entering his prime and still has his best hockey ahead of him. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

The 31-year-old won the Vezina for the second time last season, but for a lot of people the lasting image of the Jets goalie is him allowing 24 goals in five games against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Anyone think that stuck with Hellebuyck the entire offseason? So, now you're taking an elite goalie in the prime of his career and he's entering the season with extra motivation. We haven't had a repeat Vezina winner since Martin Brodeur in 2007-08, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Hellebuyck have to find some extra room in his trophy case, and for more than just a goaltending trophy. -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes

Yes, the 25-year-old starts the season sharing the net with established veteran Frederik Andersen, but it says here that he will have the No. 1 job by Jan. 1. The Russian goalie is that good and that determined, and it’s his time. He has had two seasons in the NHL and has not looked out of place at all. In 69 games, he has a 38-20-9 record with a .910 save percentage and a 2.37 GAA. He also has eight shutouts already. But for me, it was what he did in his one appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. He was good, not great, against the New York Rangers as the Hurricanes tried to claw their way back into the series. But after the loss, Kochetkov was gutted, believing he had not done enough and had let his team down. That feeling most likely fueled his offseason training, and he will come back stronger and more driven. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators

The 29-year-old is coming off a strong season in which he was 35-24-5 with a 2.86 GAA, .906 save percentage and three shutouts, helping guide the Predators into the playoffs. He led NHL goalies in starts (64), shots faced (1,845) and saves (1,672). He has a new goalie coach in Mitch Korn, who returns to Nashville where he coached its netminders under then-coach, now general manager Barry Trotz from 1998-2014. Korn has a track record of producing Vezina Trophy winners including Pekka Rinne (Predators), Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres) and Braden Holtby (Washington Capitals). -- William Douglas, staff writer

Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers

In the past three seasons, Shesterkin has the most regular-season goalie wins (109), is second in shutouts (13), second in Stanley Cup Playoff wins (23) and won the Vezina in 2021-22. He led the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers last season and was New York’s best player despite being eliminated in six games. Being that close to qualifying for the Stanley Cup Final stands to fuel his hunger to help his team take the next step. Adding to his motivation is the fact he’s entering the final season of his contract and will be eligible for free agency July 1. The better his 2024-25 numbers are, the more lucrative his next deal stands to be. The 28-year-old is in his prime and has become a cult hero at Madison Square Garden, where chants of “Igor” have become commonplace. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

Putting aside the fact the 25-year-old remains unsigned by the Bruins three weeks before training camp starts, I think the goalie is in line for a career season. While there will be an adjustment without Linus Ullmark, Swayman’s close friend and goalie partner for the past two seasons, Swayman made the ultimate statement under the brightest lights when he put up a .933 save percentage and 2.15 goals-against average in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, getting the Bruins to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Panthers. He proved he can be a No. 1 goalie, that he can withstand the pressure, that he has the stamina to play night after night. And with an upgraded defense in front of him after the acquisition of Nikita Zadorov on a team that values defense, that sets Swayman up well for the upcoming season. It’s a tall ask, but Swayman has big goals and the talent to back them up. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer