The 2024 NHL Awards ceremony was last night from the fabulous Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. One team that should be proud of their netminders from the 2023-24 season, recognized last night at the awards, is the Winnipeg Jets. Connor Hellebuyck walked away with a Vezina Trophy win. Furthermore, this goes along with the William M. Jennings Trophy already secured by Hellebuyck and the Jets for the league’s lowest goals-against-average.
Connor Hellebuyck Wins His Second Career Vezina Trophy
A quick couple of notes on the Jennings victory first, which has been presented annually going back to 1982. The Jets combined had a 2.42 team GAA in 2023-24, which actually tied them with the Florida Panthers for the lead league. However, the Jets’ netminders faced a lot more shots, around 150, and thus walked away with the award. Furthermore, only Hellebuyck gets credit for the award, even though it is a team award. For Laurent Brossoit to have qualified, he would have needed 25 games played with the Jets, whereas he only had 23. However, he was outstanding in the games he did play. Brossoit had a 2.00 GAA, with an incredible .927 SV%, and a 15-5-2 record for the Jets in 2023-24.
Looking at the Numbers Behind Vezina Victory
Regarding the Vezina Trophy victory, Hellebuyck was more than deserving in 2023-24, and one major reason the Jets qualified for the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. With the win, Hellebuyck joins only Sergei Bobrovsky among active NHL goaltenders to win the award twice. Hellebuyck had previously won the award back in 2020.
When you check out Hellebuyck’s stats, it was no wonder he entered the Vezina Trophy voting as the odds-on-favourite. According to moneypuck.com, he blew out his competition in Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) at 33.1. Second place was another of his worthy competitors in the Vezina Trophy candidacy, Thatcher Demko (22.0). Though, Demko’s rating was nowhere near Hellebuyck’s. Moreover, Hellebuyck finished fourth in league GAA with a 2.39, sandwiched between the other two finalists for the Vezina Trophy, with third in the category being Bobrovsky and fifth, Demko.
The Jets as a team were solid defensively, finishing 11th in the league in fewest shots allowed at 29.6 per game. However, Hellebuyck made the big plays when it mattered the most. It also helped that the Jets, as a team, coached by the now retired Rick Bowness, were so excellent at shutting teams down. When you look at a stat for High Danger Save Percentage Above Expected, filtering on goalies with 20 games played or more, Hellebuyck actually finished 45th in the league at 0.068. Still, the fact that it is positive is the key takeaway. So, even though the Jets didn’t give up many high danger chances, Hellebuyck stopped more than he was expected to save.
How does this award impact the club going forward into 2024-25? It is tough to say. The Jets will be tinkering with their lineup, as they try to stay competitive. As a result, Brossoit and a player like Nikolaj Ehlers will be interesting to watch to see what happens. Overall, with Hellebuyck looking to run-it-back, and a new coach (Scott Arniel) familiar with the old systems and strategies, having worked within Bowness’ regime, look for the Jets to once again be sound between the pipes.
Main photo credit: Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports
