Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark has been named the winner of the Vezina Trophy, voted upon by the National Hockey League’s 32 general managers and given annually to the National Hockey League’s top goaltender.
Ullmark, 29, posted a 40–6–1 record, two shutouts, and a .938 save percentage in 49 games with the Bruins during the 2022–23 regular season. While battling injury, he went 3–3 with an .896 save percentage in six games with the Bruins during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin were also named finalists for the Vezina Trophy.
Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman previously won the William M. Jennings Trophy for collectively allowing the fewest goals of any NHL goaltending tandem during the 2022–23 regular season.
The Buffalo Sabres originally selected Ullmark in the sixth round (No. 163 overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. The six-foot-five goaltender spent parts of six seasons with the Sabres before signing with the Bruins in 2021.
Ullmark is the fourth different Bruins goaltender to win the Vezina Trophy since 1981, when it shifted from being awarded to the goaltender(s) who allowed the fewest goals to being given to the league’s top goaltender. He joins a club that also includes Pete Peeters (who won in 1983), Tim Thomas (2009, 2011), and Tuukka Rask (2014).
Through 207 career games with the Sabres and Bruins, Ullmark has posted a 116–63–16 record, six shutouts, and a .916 save percentage. He’s under contract through 2025 at a $5 million annual cap hit.
The Vezina Trophy, like most NHL awards, is voted upon at the end of the regular season. New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin won the award in 2022.
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