31 of the top 32 places were taken by Russian goalkeepers
Usually the award ceremony was held in Las Vegas, but due to the coronavirus in recent years everything has changed, and now they have decided to hold the ceremony in Tampa between the third and fourth games of the Cup final. Stanley.
And this day will go down in the history of Russian hockey. Indeed, for the fourth time in history, our goaltender has become the owner of the Vézina trophy. This has already been achieved by Sergey Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets (2013, 2017), Andrey Vasilevsky of the Tampa Bay Lightning (2019) and now Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers (2022).
The prestigious Vézina Trophy has been awarded since 1927; since 1982, its owner has been determined by the league’s general managers, who nominate three winners each. Shesterkin was elected almost unanimously, getting the first votes on 29 of 32 ballots, and three more gave him second place – in the end, Igor scored 154 points.
Also in the top three, Jakub Markström of the Calgary Flames (0-14-11=53 points) and Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators (0-9-5=32 points).
It is also unique that Russian goalkeepers received 31 of the first 32 votes. Fifth in the vote was Andrey Vasilevsky (1-2-3=14), and sixth was Ilya Sorokin (1-1-3=11). Another first place was taken by Dane Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes (1-3-7=21).
Shesterkin won this moving award. He started playing in the NHL in just 2020. It only took two years and he rose to the pinnacle of goaltending. It is only the third time in New York Rangers history that a goaltender has won the award under the current selection criteria established in the 1981-82 season. Now it’s determined by vote, and before, “Vezina” was given to whoever missed the championship the least. So, earlier this trophy was received by American John Vanbiesbroek (1986) and Swede Henrik Lundqvist (2012).
Why has Shesterkin been so noticed? Well, fingers crossed. He posted a league-best concede ratio of 2.07. He has the best save percentage at 93.5%. He is third in breadcrumbs (6). And most importantly, under him, the New York Rangers not only made the playoffs, but also scored 110 points in the championship – this is the third result in the history of the club.
And Shesterkin’s save percentage is the third in history among goaltenders who have played at least 50 games in a season. Only Tim Thomas (93.8%) of the Boston Bruins (2010-11) and Dominik Hasek (93.7%) of the Buffalo Sabers (1998-99) have done better.
Such good company!
Shesterkin asked for ammunition like Lundqvist
Shesterkin arrived at the ceremony and took the stage in front of the audience in a beautiful dark suit.
Igor said that even as a child he idolized Lundqvist and wanted to copy him in everything, down to goalkeeper equipment.
“I asked my dad to buy me some TPS shields, a pancake and a trap,” Shesterkin said. – And he answered me: “No, we don’t have money for that.” I then said, “OK, next time I’ll buy it myself.”
As a result, Igor took over from King Henrik, replacing him and becoming Rangers’ first goalkeeper in the 2020/21 season. There’s even a photo icon where Shesterkin and Lundqvist stand together and hug on the ice. And now, 10 years after Henrik, Prince Igor has received a valuable award.
“Lundqvist was a very good goalkeeper and it was very interesting to watch him play,” Shesterkin said. – When I came to the NHL myself, I didn’t even think I could win the Vezina Trophy. But during a pre-season game against the New York Islanders, I noticed that one of the fans was holding a photo of me with the caption “Future Vezina Trophy winner”. And then I thought, “Why not?” We have a good team to achieve this. All the guys helped me a lot. This is our common team victory.
The New Yorkers led 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, but have lost four straight to Tampa since then.
“It’s so difficult because we have a very good team and we deserved to play in the final,” Shesterkin said. “So I think it was a very good experience for us and we will be stronger next season.”
“Igor kept us in the game at the start of the season when we were playing badly and shouldn’t have won,” admitted Rangers defender Adam Fox. “When Shesterkin is in our goal, you have a lot more confidence that if a mistake happens he’ll have you covered.”
Panarin: Thank you also for my blocked shots!
The New York Rangers partners recorded a warm congratulatory video for Igor, which was shown during the award ceremony.
“Congratulations Six. He deserved this honor,” Fox said in the video. – You are the backbone of our team, and I’m sure this isn’t your last Vezina.
“Congratulations, buddy. Keep up the good work. You deserved it. Thank you also for my blocked shots, right? “joked Artemy Panarin, who made 14 blocks in 75 matches this season, taking 21st place in this indicator at Rangers.
“I’m so excited… It’s a great night for me and I hope it’s a great night for New York,” Shesterkin said. Thank you very much, Rangers fans. I love you so much. See you soon”.
Shesterkin entered the symbolic team of the season
If we talk about the rest of the winners, then it was a party named after Auston Matthews.
The Toronto forward won the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award for Most Valuable Player of the Season according to journalists and hockey players themselves.
Matthews scored 1630 points while voting for the Hart Trophy (119 first votes). Third place went to Igor Shesterkin (738, first 24 votes), seventh — Kirill Kaprizov (126, first two votes), tenth — Alexander Ovechkin (10).
Colorado’s Cale Makar (1631) was voted top defensive end, narrowly edging out Nashville’s Roman Yosi (1606). The Russians didn’t get a single point here.
The Rookie of the Year was Detroit’s Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy. He obtained 1853 points in front of Trevor Zegras (1191). The Russians haven’t received a single point here either, despite Kirill Kaprizov becoming the winner last year.
Finally, the symbolic first team of the season looks like this:
Igor Shesterkin – Roman Yosi, Cale Makar – Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Johnny Gaudreau.
The second symbolic team of the season:
Jakub Markstrom – Victor Hedman, Charlie McAvoy – Connor McDavid, Matthew Tkachuk, Jonathan Huberdeau.
Well, everything is due.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
