Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck wins 2025 Vezina and Hart Trophies

The NHL has announced that the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck will take home both the 2025 Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender and the 2025 Hart Trophy as league MVP.

Hellebuyck beats out Los Angeles’ Darcy Kuemper and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Vezina award. This marks his third time winning the trophy. For the Hart, he finishes ahead of forwards Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) and Nikita Kucherov (Lightning). He becomes the first goalie since Carey Price in 2014-15 to win both awards.

Hellebuyck posted career-bests across the board this season, with a 2.00 goals-against-average, .925 save percentage, and 47 wins. He led the NHL in all three statistics among goaltenders with at least 35 games played.

Hellebuyck was at his home when he discovered he had won the Vezina. Surrounded by family and teammate Eric Comrie, the Hart Trophy was then brought out as an extra surprise.

“That moment was like putting a little cherry on top … I actually had no idea what this trophy looked like. Looking back, I’ll probably picture this day as one of the greatest of my career,” he said.

Hellebuyck had a monumental season, highlighted by posting the highest win percentage in NHL history. His 47 wins in 63 games equal out to 0.746 wins-per-game, defeating the previous record 0.727 posted by Braden Holtby in 2015-16. On a grand scale, Hellebuyck’s win total ranks third all-time behind Holtby (48 wins in 66 games, 2015-16) and Martin Brodeur (48 in 78, 2006-07). Hellebuyck also tied Bernie Parent and Roberto Luongo in wins, though he managed the feat in fewer games.

Hellebuyck joins Glenn Hall, Tony Esposito and George Hainsworth as a three-time winner. Each one of the 12 other goaltenders to win at least three Vezina Trophies went on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame — save for four-time winner Michel Larocque, backstop of the 1979 Stanley Cup-clinching Montreal Canadiens. 

Hellebuyck ran away with the Vezina voting, receiving all but one first place vote. MVP voting was much closer, but Hellebuyck edged out Draisaitl, 1,346 to 1,209.

Hellebuyck’s prowess has rarely been questioned. He has posted a save percentage at or north of .920 in four of his last six seasons — only interrupted by a .916 and .910 in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, respectively. Every season, except for 2021-22, was coupled by a win percentage of at least 50%. 

That’s incredible consistency for an NHL starter — a fact that has earned Hellebuyck the third-highest cap hit ($8.5M) among NHL goaltenders. He carries that price tag on a seven-year, $59.9M contract signed with Winnipeg in 2023. That deal will carry Hellebuyck through his age-38 season in 2030-31.