NHL Announces Vezina Finalists

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Matt Garland
May 10, 2022 (11:23)

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The NHL announced the Vezina finalists for this season.

They are Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames, and Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators are finalists for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender in 2021-22.

Shesterkin was 36-13-4 with a league-leading 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage. A 2014 Rangers draft pick (fourth round, 118th overall), the Russian broke into the NHL in the 2019-20 season.

Markstrom, in his second season with Calgary, helped the Flames finish first in the Pacific Division. He went 37-15-9 with career bests in goals-against average (2.22) and save percentage (.922). Markstrom, who had a league-leading nine shutouts this season, is the first Flame to be a finalist for the award since Miikka Kiprusoff in 2006-07. The latter is the only Flame to have won the award -- one year earlier.

Saros scores his first-ever nomination this season by following up a terrific pandemic-shortened 2021 campaign by officially cementing himself among the NHL's elite at his position. Saros went 38-25-3 with a 2.64 GAA and .918 save percentage, but suffered a foot injury in the final week of the regular season and was unavailable for the post-season.

This was a huge loss for the Predators, who became the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs on Monday when they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

NHL general managers voted on the Vezina at the conclusion of the regular season.

The winners of all awards will be announced during the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals.