There is no way of denying it anymore. Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark is going to win the 2023 Vezina Trophy.
Unfortunately, that has kind of taken the fun out of end-of-season awards betting for NHL .
The Bruins are absolutely rolling on their way to potential NHL records, commanding a 46-8-5 record through 59 games played, amassing 97 total points. The pace for both wins (64) and points (135) would give Boston the league record in each category.
While the credit cannot be given to any singular person, there is little doubt that Ullmark deserves his fair share for what he's done between the pipes for the Bruins.
Ullmark is 30-4-1 in 35 starts, posting a league-leading 1.86 goals against average and .938 save percentage. Across the board, Ullmark has the best numbers of any goaltender in the NHL, which is why he tops the Vezina Trophy leaderboard at BetMGM.
Vezina Trophy Odds
Linus Ullmark: -303
Connor Hellebuyck: +500
Ilya Sorokin: +500
Jake Oettinger: +900
Igor Shesterkin: +1600
Andrei Vasilevskiy: +2200
Juuse Saros: +2200
Alexandar Georgiev: +5000
Ullmark's status as such a high favorite comes after he entered the season with little to zero fan fare. In fact, his rise from +8000 at the beginning of the season to -303 is the biggest positive movement in the last ten years for Vezina candidates.
The Bruins goalie has commanded the respect of bettors by earning 25.6% of the bets (most) and 60% of the handle (most) on the Vezina Trophy so far this season. There are a couple of other trophies Boston likely has a good chance of nabbing as well.
