The 2021-22 NHL season is around the corner and people have already looked ahead to who’ll win next year’s Vezina Trophy. If you’re unfamiliar with hockey, the Vezina Trophy is awarded to the league’s top goaltender in any given season. Last year, it was won by former Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, which was his first time winning the award despite being drafted in 2003.
Now that the new season is quickly approaching, sportsbooks have begun releasing their Vezina odds — including BetOnline. At +450 odds, nobody well comes close to Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s odds to win the award. If he’s successful, it’ll be his second time winning the award in the past four years. Considering how only six other goalies have won multiple Vezina awards since the current criteria were introduced in 1981, Vasilevskiy would be a part of some pretty elite company.
Nevertheless, it’s not surprising to see that Vasilevskiy is favored to win the 2021-22 Vezina Trophy. He’s finished top-3 in Vezina voting in each of the past four campaigns and should finish there again this season. He’s also led all goaltenders in win totals in each of those seasons and led the league with 9.6 goalie point shares, proving his importance to Tampa.
Vasilevskiy enters the upcoming season after going 31-10-1 last year with a career-best .925 save percentage (SV%), 2.21 goals against average (GAA) and five shutouts. There’s also the fact that he’s backstopped the Lightning to two straight Stanley Cup victories, so few goalies have the momentum or team that Vasilevskiy has in front of him. Assuming Tampa Bay stays dominant, the 27-year-old Russian should remain in the Vezina Trophy conversation going forward.
2021-22 Vezina Trophy Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Thursday, August 26
- Andrei Vasilevskiy (+450)
- Connor Hellebuyck (+1000)
- Philipp Grubauer (+1000)
- Carey Price (+1200)
- Marc-Andre Fleury (+1200)
- Semyon Varlamov (+1200)
- Darcy Kuemper (+1400)
- Thatcher Demko (+1400)
- Jordan Binnington (+1600)
- Petr Mrazek (+1600)
- Robin Lehner (+1600)
Complete odds list is available at BetOnline.ag.
Connor Hellebuyck Vezina Odds
Two seasons ago, Connor Hellebuyck took home the first Vezina Trophy in Winnipeg Jets history. While he couldn’t quite match that performance last year, that doesn’t stop him from being tied for second-best odds (+1000) to win it again in the 2021-22 NHL season.
Hellebuyck went 24-17-3 last year with a 2.58 GAA and .916 SV% with four shutouts. While those statistics weren’t good enough to win him the Vezina Trophy, they still land him fourth in award voting. Nevertheless, the Jets project to have a solid defensive core surrounding Hellebuyck this year. Nate Schmidt and Brendan Dillon are two offseason acquisitions who should help make life easier for the goaltender. Assuming that these moves work as well as they look on paper, Hellebuyck should at least be considered in the Vezina race throughout the season.
Philipp Grubauer Vezina Trophy Odds
After years of playing more of a backup role in the NHL, Philipp Grubauer broke out with the Colorado Avalanche last year. Playing 40 games in a shortened season, the 29-year-old German finished with a 30-9-1 record, .922 SV%, 1.95 GAA and a career-best seven shoutouts. His efforts saw him finish third in Vezina Trophy voting with two first-place votes.
Now, at +1000 odds, Grubauer will attempt to win his first Vezina Trophy as a member of the Seattle Kraken in the 2021-22 NHL season. He and the Avalanche couldn’t reach a deal ahead of this year’s free agency period, leading to him signing a six-year, $35.4 million contract with the league’s 32nd team. With this being Seattle’s first season, it’s tough to project how the team will play considering how its players haven’t had a chance to develop chemistry yet.
Nevertheless, the Kraken are icing a solid defensive core that includes former James Norris Memorial Trophy winner Mark Giordano, Adam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak. If the Kraken defensemen gel quickly and Grubauer proves that his Vezina-quality season wasn’t a one-off, he could find himself competing for the award once again.
