The NHL regular season is coming to a close, and the playoffs are here.
As the league turns its attention to the playoffs, another topic of discussion is bound to be the NHL Awards Show set for June.
This was the most exciting NHL regular season in recent memory, with dominant teams, a hectic player race, and some fantastic individual efforts defining the 2023-2024 season.
In an environment where scoring went way up and save percentages went way down, it was hard for goaltenders to prove their worth on a night-in, night-out basis.
That did not stop some of the league's best from separating themselves, though. Here are the top three contenders for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender.
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1. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
The veteran American netminder has been a strong presence in the league for a long time now, but he authored his best season yet in 23-24.
Hellebuyck backstopped a Jets team that has been outstanding in front of him at times and quite poor at others, providing significant stability and consistency and allowing his team to remain comfortably in the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
The Jets are having their best season since 2017-2018 when they looked like Stanley Cup favorites, and it's no coincidence that it's the same year in which Hellebuyck looks like a clear winner in this race.
He's kept his goals against average well below 2.50 all season while maintaining a save percentage near .920. In this day and age, that's a sterling number, and it more than qualifies him to win this award.
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2. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks
There are a lot of contenders behind Demko for the third spot, but the American Vancouver goaltender is a clear number two in this race behind Hellebuyck.
In a similar vein to the Jets netminder, Demko carried the Canucks through some poor stretches in front of him this season, and when the team rose to an elite level, he made sure he didn't lose them any games they should have won.
The once highly touted prospect has lived up to his hype this season, and it appears the Canucks have finally found the franchise goaltender they've been desperately searching for since Roberto Luongo's departure.
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3. Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken
We thought about Boston's Jeremy Swayman and Vegas' Adin Hill for this last spot, and they're both highly deserving finalists.
But Joey Daccord has come somewhat out of nowhere to turn in a very strong season for the Seattle Kraken despite some poor results in the standings.
Daccord had the heavier workload than both Swayman and Hill, and he turned in a higher or equivalent save percentage to those two stars.
If this is who Daccord can be expected to be moving forward, the Kraken are going to be a huge problem next year as their young core continues to develop.
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