Capitals Star Snubbed from Vezina Consideration

The NHL recently announced their three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, and Washington Capitals star goalie Logan Thompson was not mentioned. While Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck is sure to run away with his second straight Vezina, the Capitals go-to backstop is more than deserving of a nomination.

In his first season with the Capitals, Thompson was a crucial reason for their dominance throughout the year. The Capitals finished the 2024-25 regular season with the second-best record in the entire NHL, with Thompson backstopping most of those wins.

In 43 games played, Thompson picked up a 31-6-6 record with a .910 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average. From October through February, Thompson had only three regulation losses on his ledger.

The Capitals barely backed their way into the playoffs last season, but Thompson made a world of difference this year. In 2023-24, the Capitals finished with 91 standings points, barely squeaking into the playoffs. They added 11 wins and 20 points in 2024-25 with Thompson leading the way between the pipes.

The Capitals finished the year with a 51-22-9 record, their best season since winning the President’s Trophy in 2016-17.

The 2024-25 season was Thompson’s first in Washington after getting traded from the Vegas Golden Knights during the draft. The 28-year-old helped put the team on his back as they rode atop the Eastern Conference all season.

Again, no one is taking the Vezina away from Hellebuyck this year. Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning are also deserving finalists, but Thompson deserves the edge over at least one of them.

Thompson seemed to be in Vezina consideration all season thanks to his slim number of regulation losses, but the voters decided to go in a different direction. The Vezina is voted by general managers of the 32 NHL teams.