Jets’ Hellebuyck wins 2024 Vezina Trophy by near-unanimous vote

Connor Hellebuyck earns second Vezina trophy of his career

Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck has won the 2024 Vezina Trophy — an honour awarded to the NHL’s best goaltender and voted on by the general managers of all 32 NHL teams at the end of the regular season.

Hellebuyck received 31 of the 32 votes for first place and one vote for second place. Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko and Florida Panthers veteran Sergei Bobrovsky were the other two finalists.

Hellebuyck had one of the best seasons of his career, posting a .921 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average in 60 regular-season games. These are his best numbers since the winning Vezina season of 2019-20.

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The reason for this is simple: Hellebuyck is a workhorse.

Hellebuyck has played in at least 60 games in each of the last three seasons. This season, he has conceded three or fewer goals in a ridiculous 50 of his 60 total appearances, including two streaks of 10 games with two or fewer goals conceded, something that has not happened since the 1943-44 season.

Hellebuyck was the first Vezina winner in Jets/Thrashers history when he won the award in 2020. He now joins Bobrovsky as the only active netminders with two.

Hellebuyck also took home Hart votes – an award given to the NHL’s MVP – and finished sixth in voting behind Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Artemi Panarin.

Last offseason, Hellebuyck signed a seven-year, $59.5 million contract extension with the Jets, which has a no-movement clause for the first three years of the deal, and a modified no-trade clause during the last four years.