Hellebuyck, Kuemper & Vasilevskiy Named 2025 Vezina Trophy Finalists

Here are the nominees they will be voting on. 

Connor Hellebuyck

Hellebuyck, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets goaltender, claimed the 2024 Vezina Trophy as the season’s best goaltender in 2023-24 after a 37-19-4 season with a 2.39 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .921 save percentage (SV%). He appears to be in an excellent position to repeat as a back-to-back winner following a 47-12-3 campaign with a 2.00 GAA and a .925 SV% for the Winnipeg Jets this season. 

Jets captain Adam Lowry doesn’t think the Vezina Trophy alone is enough recognition for the season his goalie has had between the pipes. “We think he should be in the Hart Trophy conversation,” Lowry told NHL.com in March . “It’s very rare you see a goalie there, not since Carey Price (in 2015), and I think he should be there.”

The two-time Vezina winner looks to become the first repeat trophy winner since the New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Hellebuyck won his first Vezina Trophy in the 2019-20 season with a 31-21-5 record, a .2.57 GAA, and a .922 SV%.

Andrei Vasilevskiy

A familiar face returns to the Vezina Trophy conversation for the first time since 2019-20. The Lightning goaltender won the trophy the previous year in 2018-19 following a 39-10-4 season with a 2.40 GAA and a .925 SV%. Vasilevskiy claimed the trophy over the Dallas Stars’ Ben Bishop and the New York Islanders’ Robin Lehner that season. 

Vasilevskiy, a five-time Vezina Trophy finalist, finished this season with a 30-20-5 record, a 2.18 GAA, and a .921 SV% for the Tampa Bay Lightning. His six shutouts placed second behind Hellebuyck, who posted nine for Winnipeg. 

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper agreed with the decision to include his starting goalie. “When you look at the candidates, it’s always tough,” Cooper told NHL.com. “There’s only three announced and usually there’s a pool of six to eight guys, whether it’s goaltenders, defenseman, forwards, for all the major awards. But there was no question he earned this right to be in that group. This was a no-brainer. Good for him.” 

Earlier this season, the 30-year-old became the fastest goalie to reach 300 NHL wins, which only 40 netminders in NHL history have accomplished. Vasilevskiy accomplished the milestone in 490 games, breaking Jacques Plante’s record of 300 wins in his first 521 contests. Lightning captain Victor Hedman praised his goalie after Tampa’s win over the Jets on Nov. 14. “Obviously, the best goalkeeper in the world and (he) gives us a chance every single night,” Hedman said. “We’re super happy for him.” 

Darcy Kuemper 

Darcy Kuemper makes his first appearance on the Vezina Trophy finalist list. The 34-year-old netminder allowed 206 goals against this season, the second-fewest in the NHL and posted a 31-11-7 record, .921 SV%, and five shutouts.

“It’s pretty cool,” Kuemper said to NHL.com. “Obviously, I owe a lot of thanks to my teammates and Mike Buckley, my goalie coach, for how much they’ve helped me throughout the year, and obviously, I wouldn’t have been named without those guys.” 

Kuemper is in the third year of his five-year contract signed with the Los Angeles Kings in 2022. The 34-year-old goalie has two more years remaining on his deal and is set to become a free agent following the 2026-27 season.