Finalists have been announced for the NHL's 2013 Vezina Trophy, the award for the top goalie of the year. This year's candidates are Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Picking a winner out of these three is very tough, and this can be expected to be one of the closest Vezina Trophy votes we've seen. Each goalie's statistics from the regular season were extremely similar, and a fair argument can be made for either of the three to win the award.
Antti Niemi was one of the main reasons San Jose was among the league's best in terms of preventing goals. Niemi had a goals-against average of only 2.16, and the Sharks were a playoff team mostly because of the stellar play of their goaltender. When you give up an average of only a little over two goals per game and have forwards like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture among others, you're going to win games.
Niemi won a Stanley Cup in his rookie season with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, but he has spent the rest of his career in San Jose. He has since established himself as a consistent goaltender who can lead his team by stopping shot after shot. His .924 save percentage, which was one of the best among consistent starters, is just another highlight on the terrific season that "Nemo" had in his fairly young career.
Henrik Lundqvist is considered by many to be hockey's best goalie, and for good reason. "The King" only reaffirmed our opinions on him after shutting out the Washington Capitals (one of the best offenses in hockey) in both Games Six and Seven of their first round series.
Voters cannot take Lundqvist's playoff performance into account because the Vezina Trophy is a regular season award, but he was just as effective in the regular season. Lundqvist was tied for the league lead in wins with Niemi and Minnesota Wild keeper Niklas Backstrom, posting 24 victories for his Rangers.
Lundqvist also had a 2.05 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage, both slightly better than Niemi's totals. Lundqvist has proven year in and year out that he is consistently one of the better goalies we have seen in recent years, and he is definitely deserving of the Vezina Trophy.
Last but definitely not least is Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky had a better goals-against average (2.00) and a higher save percentage (.932) than either Niemi or Lundqvist, but his chances at winning the award could be hurt due to the fact that his Blue Jackets missed the playoffs.
Nevertheless, Bobrovsky's efforts were enough to get Columbus to tie for the last spot (and lose out on the tiebreaker to the Minnesota Wild) in the Western Conference playoff bracket, which was much better than anyone else had expected for a team that was supposed to be guaranteed a spot in the cellar.
Bobrovsky would be the clear-cut favorite for the Vezina had his team made the playoffs, but he still has a good shot at winning. His numbers and overall performance were a cut above those of Niemi and Lundqvist, but the fact that Bobrovsky's competitors both made the playoffs while he failed to do so will cause the award to be a total toss-up.