Each Nominee's Case - Vezina Trophy

Three terrific goaltenders were nominated for the 2019-20 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender. Connor Hellebuyck has never won the award, but was a runner up in the 2017-18 season. He would be the first goaltender to win the award in Jets/Thrashers franchise history. Tuukka Rask won the award in 2013-14 and also won the William M. Jennings Award this season with teammate Jaroslav Halak for allowing the fewest goals against in the NHL. Andrei Vasilevskiy, who led the NHL in wins for the third straight season, won the award last season and is enjoying his third straight season as a nominee.

The Case for Connor Hellebuyck

The short case for Connor Hellebuyck is that his Jets team would not be in the spot they are in for the playoffs if he didn't play the way he did this season. Hellebuyck was second to Vasilevskiy in wins with 31 and had the seventh-best save percentage among qualified netminders. The Jets will enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the ninth seed in the Western Conference, due in large part to the contributions of Hellebuyck down the stretch.

The Case for Tuukka Rask

Rask's play this season was nothing short of phenomenal, as seen by his league-leading goals-against average and second-place finish in save percentage. Rask topped off his individual statistics with a Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals as a team, and led the Bruins to the President's Trophy for the best regular season record. Rask only started 41 games, but he still finished in the top 10 in goaltender wins with 26 to further bolster his already impressive 2019-20 resume.

The Case for Andrei Vasilevskiy

Vasilevskiy has already become a perennial Vezina nominee, as this is his third straight nomination at only age 25. This was also his third straight season leading NHL goaltenders in wins, this season collecting 35 wins in 52 starts. He fell outside the top 10 in both save percentage and goals against average, but the talent surrounding him in Tampa Bay allows him to win more often than not. Vasilevskiy could become the first goalie since Martin Brodeur in 2006-07 and 2007-08 to win back-to-back Vezina trophies.

The Consensus

The individual statistics for these three goaltenders prove that wins don't dictate the impact of a goalie. Vasilevskiy had the most wins, but the team he has playing in front of him is far deeper and slightly more talented than the Jets team supporting Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck's ability to elevate the Jets team and Rask's ability to lead the Bruins to the league's best record impressed me more than Vasilevskiy's performance for the already elite Lightning. My pick for the award this year is Tuukka Rask. His team is also elite, but the numbers he put up gave his team a chance to win every single night. He should be able to collect both a Jennings trophy and a Vezina Trophy for this season, something that hasn't been done since Carey Price won both in 2014-15.