- Vasilevskiy, Sorokin, and Swayman are the 2026 Vezina Trophy finalists
- Vasilevskiy led the NHL in wins, Sorokin in shutouts, Swayman set a career high
- Read below for stats, history, and what each finalist brings to the race
The NHL’s general managers picked their three best regular-season goalies on Wednesday.
Ilya Sorokin, Jeremy Swayman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy are this year’s Vezina Trophy finalists, the league announced.
Vasilevskiy is the favorite. The Tampa Bay netminder went 39-15-4 to lead the league in wins for the sixth time in his career, posting a 2.12 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 58 games. He won this award back in 2018-19 and is now a six-time finalist.
Sorokin’s case rests on the workload he absorbed for an Islanders team that fell short of the playoffs. He was 29-24-2 in 55 games with a .906 save percentage and led the NHL with seven shutouts. He also paced the league in high-danger saves (452) and high-danger save percentage (.864).
Swayman is the first-time guy in the group. The 27-year-old went 31-18-4 with a 2.71 GAA and a .908 save percentage, set a career high in wins, and helped drag Boston back to the postseason after the Bruins missed it last year.
A few storylines worth tracking. Sorokin would be the first Islanders goalie to win the trophy since Billy Smith in 1981-82. Swayman could become the first Boston winner since Linus Ullmark took it home in 2022-23. Vasilevskiy hasn’t won since 2018-19 despite stacking up six finalist nods.
The NHL also rolled out a season-long save reel that has plenty of moments from this trio:
Connor Hellebuyck took the Vezina last season, and he isn’t on this list. Winnipeg’s drop in the standings dropped him out of contention.
The rest of the NHL Awards finalists will be announced over the next two weeks. The Lady Byng comes Thursday, the Jack Adams on Friday, and the Ted Lindsay finalists were already revealed earlier this week. The full schedule and all stats are on NHL.com.
The Vezina winner will be revealed later this spring.
