Surprise contenders are dominating the Vezina race, with one Dallas star facing unexpected challenges despite his team's success.
The tides have been turning this season. Teams that have reigned for the last couple years are now fighting to stay in the playoff race and players who once led the league have been having down years. Last year's President Trophy Winners, the Winnipeg Jets, currently sit last in the league halfway through the season.
Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) and goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) celebrate the Stars victory over the Ottawa Senators at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesThe Vezina Trophy race is no different. Connor Hellebyuck, who won the Vezina Trophy the last two years, along with other top goalies like Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shersterkin are no where to be found in the current standings to win the award for the best goaltender of the year.
Writers for the NHL were polled and the top three names were a pleasant surprise. With the most votes to win through the first 40+ games is Logan Thompson. Followed by former Dallas Star, Scott Wedgewood and currently third in votes is Jake Oettinger. These names are all surprising for vastly different reasons.
Thompson, who has 15 wins in 31 games played with two shut outs, has carried a save percentage of .915% and a goals-against average of 2.40 this season. While his numbers are decent, it was surprising to see his name at the top of list, due to the Washington Capitals being a middle of the pack team, currently outside of a wildcard spot. Thompson was selected to represent Team Canada in the 2026 Olympics, but will likely not be the starter behind Jordan Binnington.
Wedgewood, who is having the best season of his career, is surprising purely based on how well he has played this season. He has been a career backup who is playing really well and has been the starter for most of the season due to injuries to partner, Mackenzie Blackwood. Wedgewood has 19 wins, which leads the league, in 28 games played. In that time he has had two shut outs and carries a save percentage of .917% and a goals-against average of 2.19. The Colorado Avalanche have a decent lead on the rest of the league so far this season and that is in large part due to the great goaltending they have gotten from their tandem.
This is not the first year Oettinger has gotten Vezina consideration, but he has previously been in the running with the Hellebyuck's of the league. The ironic part about Oettinger being in the running this year is that he is having the worst (numbers wise) season of his career. He has 15 wins in 28 games played with two shut outs. He has a goals-against average of 2.76 and currently has a save percentage of .900% which is well below his career average of .911%.
Despite not getting Oettinger's best performance all season long, the Stars still sit second in the league behind the Avalanche. However, in his last outing against the Carolina Hurricanes, which was the first game of a back-to-back, he was pulled for the first time since Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Casey DeSmith, who is having a really good season himself, came in to relieve him, although the game was too far gone at that point. However, due to DeSmith's performance, DeSmith got the nod to play the next night against the Capitals, over Oettinger.
If Oettinger can turn this season around, he could make a case for himself to finally win a Vezina without competing against those who have been clear-cut winners for quite a while. No matter the outcome, it appears the winner could be a goaltender that has not been in the running in the past couple years.
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