NHL Vezina Trophy Odds: Going Beyond Clear-Cut Favorite Andrei Vasilevskiy
It should be an entertaining season between the pipes in the NHL
Marc-Andre Fleury took home his first Vezina Trophy last season after a 26-10-0 record with an impressive 1.98 goals-against average and .928 save percentage for the Vegas Golden Knights.
He helped lead Vegas to second place in the West Division en route to its fourth straight Stanley Cup playoffs appearance. Fleury began the 2020-21 season 5-0-0 and amassed a win in each of his nine final starts.
Fleury long has been one of the NHL's best goalies and a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The goalie's chances at a repeat aren't out of reach, but the favorite for the trophy is Tampa Bay Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy as he and his team look to three-peat as Stanley Cup champions.
Vasilevskiy is the runaway favorite at DraftKings Sportsbooks, but he has some pretty stiff competition between the pipes.
VEZINA TROPHY ODDS
Andrei Vasilevskiy +380
Marc-Andre Fleury +1000
Connor Hellebuyck +1000
Darcy Kuemper +1000
Philipp Grubauer +1200
Carey Price +1400
Semyon Varlamov +1400
THE PICK
Semyon Varlamov (+1400) -- The New York Islanders netminder could be a dark horse to win the award this season. His .929 save percentage led the league among goalies with more than 25 starts in 2021. Varlamov also had seven shutouts for the Isles, which was tied with Fleury's for most in the NHL. It's fair to assume Varlamov will put up similar numbers this season, and with a full 82-game schedule on deck, that only leaves more room to improve and build upon. He has a strong team in front him, and we saw how strong the Islanders can be on defense. So while it's not the safe bet like Vasilevskiy would be, it's a bet that's worth taking.
