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Three finalists announced for NHL’s top goaltender

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With the NHL playoffs underway, the league is rolling out the names of players who stood out during the regular season.

Over the next week, the three finalists will be announced for the following awards: Vezina Trophy (goaltender), Norris Trophy (defenseman), Ted Lindsay Award (MVP as voted by players), Hart Trophy (MVP as voted by writers), Masterton Trophy (perseverance), Selke Trophy (defensive forward), Adams Award (coach), Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship) and Calder Trophy (rookie).

The winner of the Willie O’Ree Community Award will be announced on May 12. Finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year award will be announced after the end of the second round of the playoffs.

Voting took place at the end of the regular season. No date has been announced yet for when the winners will be revealed.

Here are the finalists for the NHL’s major awards and when the finalists will be announced:

Vezina Trophy finalists

Who votes: General managers

Finalists (listed alphabetically): Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets; Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings, and Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning,

Hellebuyck, last year’s winner, went 47-12-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and eight shutouts to lead the Jets to the league’s best record. The 47 wins tied for second best all-time. He led the NHL in GAA and shutouts and ranked second in save percentage. Hellebuyck, who won in 2020 and 2024, is looking to become the first repeat winner since Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Kuemper went 31-11-7 with five shutouts in his second stint with the Kings. He finished first in high-danger save percentage (.863), second in goals-against average (2.02) and third in save percentage. He had a stretch of 15 consecutive starts of allowing two or fewer goals from March 5 to April 10. He’s a first-time finalist.

Vasilevskiy went 38-20-5 and ranked second in 38 wins, tied for first in games played (63), was second in saves (1,581) and high-danger save percentage (.853), tied for second in shutouts (six) and ranked fourth in goals-against average (2.18) and save percentage (.921). He became the fastest goaltender in league history to reach 300 wins, doing it in his 490th career game. Vasilevskiy is a finalist for the fifth time and won the award in 2018-19.

NHL awards finalists announcement schedule

Monday, April 28: Vezina Trophy

Tuesday, April 29: James Norris Memorial Trophy

Wednesday, April 30: Ted Lindsay Award

Thursday, May 1: Hart Memorial Trophy

Friday, May 2: Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, Frank J. Selke Trophy, Jack Adams Award and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Monday, May 5: Calder Memorial Trophy

This post appeared first on USA TODAY