The NHL took some time out of a busy Wednesday afternoon and announced the two men who will lose out on the 2023 Vezina Trophy to Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark.
They just presented it a bit differently.
The NHL announced that Ullmark, New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin and Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck were named finalists for the Vezina on Wednesday, officially counting down the clock to Ullmark's nearly-guaranteed win.
The 29-year-old allowed two or fewer goals in 73.5% of his total appearances this season, capturing the goalie triple-crown by leading the league in wins (40), goals-against average (1.89) and save percentage (.938) over the course of his 49 start season. Ullmark's excellence helped the Bruins complete a historic regular season, though the less said about their Stanley Cup playoffs run, the better.
Ullmark has been the favorite to win the award since mid-December, with most sportsbooks taking odds off the board in March.
The veteran netminder joins Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery (Jack Adams Award), forward David Pastrnak (Ted Lindsay Award) and center Patrice Bergeron (Selke Trophy, King Clancy Memorial Trophy) to be nominated for awards in 2023.
Ullmark and teammate Jeremy Swayman already wrapped up one award for Boston, winning the 2022-23 William M. Jennings Trophy, presented annually to the goaltenders who play a minimum of 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season.
