NHL's Vezina Trophy Expected to be Tight

The 2024-25 NHL season is still a few months away, but early betting odds are already out for several futures. Among those futures are who will walk away with next season’s Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie. If the early odds hold true, it could be a close race all season.
According to FanDuel, three goalies currently lead the way with +600 odds to end the 2024-25 season as the best goalie in the NHL. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins, and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.
Each netminder is entering the 2024-25 season expecting much more of themselves and their t
Connor Hellebuyck
More often than not, a reigning winner of an award will be an early favorite the next season. That was always going to be the case for Hellebuyck. He’s arguably the best goalie in the NHL and always has the numbers to back it up.
Even on a mediocre Jets team, Hellebuyck always emerges as a top player. The Jets saw a massive jump during the 2023-24 season, and Hellebuyck was a big reason for it. He registered 37 of the team’s 52 wins in 60 games played.
It’s rare for goalies to play 60+ games in a year, but that’s something Hellebuyck has done in five of his nine seasons. Hellebuyck is a sturdy force between the pipes that will surely be a Vezina favorite all season long.
Jeremy Swayman
2024-25 will be Swayman’s first chance to be a full-time starter with the Bruins. After trading Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators, the Bruins are putting all of their eggs into the Swayman basket.
The Bruins got Joonas Korpisalo in return, but he isn’t expected to carry nearly as much of the load as Ullmark. It’ll be Swayman’s net in Boston, and he has a chance to separate himself as one of the top netminders in the league.
Being an early favorite for the Vezina shouldn’t be a surprise. Swayman already has 79 wins in 132 career games and a .919 save percentage. Closing in on his prime years, he’s only going to get better and could easily capture his first Vezina Trophy.
Igor Shesterkin
With a career record of 135-59-17, the Rangers have one of the league’s top netminders in Shesterkin. With over 35 wins in each of the last three seasons, expectations will be extremely high for him in 2024-25.
Backed by a 36-17-2 record, including a seven-game winning streak, Shesterkin finished fourth in Vezina voting for the 2023-24 season. The league should be on alert because he’s only focusing on getting better, especially if a contract extension isn’t signed and he enters the final year of his deal.
The Rangers are hunting down a Stanley Cup, and they hope to do so with a netminder who is hunting down his second Vezina Trophy.