- Daily Faceoff ranks Logan Thompson as the No. 1 Vezina Trophy candidate for 2026-27
- NHL Network had Thompson sixth among goalies just nine days earlier
- Read below for the full top 10 and where Vasilevskiy and Hellebuyck landed
Logan Thompson was arguably the best goalie in the NHL last season and still finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting, left off more than half of the ballots GMs turned in.
Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin thinks that gets corrected this year. Larkin ranked Thompson the top Vezina candidate for 2026-27 on Wednesday, ahead of reigning winner Andrei Vasilevskiy, Ilya Sorokin and three-time winner Connor Hellebuyck.
The numbers make the case pretty easily. Thompson started 58 games last season, a career high, and went 31-21-6 with a 2.44 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and four shutouts. No starting goalie in the league saved more goals above expected per 60 minutes.
Take a look at where he landed on the save percentage leaderboard:
Larkin’s other argument is about the roster in front of him. Washington looks like the NHL’s most improved team year over year, which should push Thompson past 40 wins, and Vezina voters are GMs who have always leaned hard on win totals.
Here’s the full top 10, with the bet365 odds Larkin attached to each goalie:
| # | Goaltender | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Logan Thompson | Capitals | +700 |
| 2 | Andrei Vasilevskiy | Lightning | +750 |
| 3 | Ilya Sorokin | Islanders | +800 |
| 4 | Connor Hellebuyck | Jets | +500 |
| 5 | Jeremy Swayman | Bruins | +1200 |
| 6 | Jake Oettinger | Stars | +2500 |
| 7 | Jesper Wallstedt | Wild | +1800 |
| 8 | Jakub Dobes | Canadiens | +2800 |
| 9 | Dan Vladar | Flyers | +4000 |
| 10 | Jet Greaves | Blue Jackets | +3000 |
That list dropped nine days after NHL Network put out its own top 10 goaltenders and slotted Thompson sixth. Igor Shesterkin went third there. He doesn’t crack Larkin’s top 10 at all.
Hellebuyck is the odd one out. He carries the shortest number on the board at +500, yet Larkin has him fourth after the Jets tumbled from a Presidents’ Trophy to out of the playoffs and his rate stats slid back toward average.
Vasilevskiy lands second coming off his second Vezina, and he needs 30 more wins to reach 400 faster than any goalie in history. Jesper Wallstedt jumps into the top seven with Filip Gustavsson recovering from offseason hip surgery, leaving the crease in Minnesota to him.
His Hart Trophy top 10 landed a day earlier, with Connor McDavid headlining what looks like another four-horse race.
A first-time Vezina winner hasn’t happened since Linus Ullmark took it in 2022-23. Thompson getting there would end a run that Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy have owned for three straight years.
