Golden Knights’ Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury Wins Vezina Trophy
The Vegas Golden Knights’ Marc-Andre Fleury received the 2020-21 Vezina Trophy, which is given to the NHL’s top goaltender.
He was given the award Tuesday, marking the first time in the goaltender’s career that he has received the coveted trophy or has been recognized as one of the top finalists.
“I couldn’t have bet on me winning this or winning so many games in Vegas in four years,” Fleury said in a statement through the Golden Knights’ Twitter. “It’s been a lot of fun and it’s an honor to win this trophy today.”
The prestigious award is voted on by the NHL’s general managers.
The goalie was named on 30 of the 31 ballots and received 14 first-place selections. In total, he earned 108 voting points, beating out 2018-19 Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa Bay Lighting who received 99 points. The Colorado Avalanche’s Philipp Grubauer came in third with 36 points.
Fleury and Robin Lehner both captured the William M. Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders on the team that allowed the fewest goals during the regular season, ranked third in the NHL in wins (26), goals-against average (1.98), save percentage (.928) and shutouts (6) in 36 appearances.
Fleury yielded two or fewer goals in 25 of his 36 outings (69.4%) en route to posting the best goals-against average and save percentage of his 17-season NHL career. He closed the season on a nine-game winning streak and climbed two spots into third place on the League’s all-time wins list (492), surpassing Ed Belfour (5th; 484) and Roberto Luongo (4th; 489). He also tied, with Roy Worters, for 14th place on the NHL’s all-time shutout list (67).
Fleury was also named to the NHL’s All Star Team in another milestone for his career.
Originally from Sorel, Quebec, Fleury’s extensive hockey career goes back to 17 years ago when he joined the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003-04 season. During his 13 seasons with the Penguins, Fleury won Stanley Cup championships in 2009, 2016, and 2017.
Fleury has also represented Canada twice as a junior, winning back-to-back silver medals at the World Junior Championships in 2003 and 2004. He also won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Fleury has recently hinted that he would like to eventually end his professional hockey career with the Vegas Golden Knights.
“I haven’t given much thought to the future but I hope I can stick around and finish my career here,” Fleury said in a statement following the Golden Knights’ elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here’s the top seven players voted on for the Vezina Trophy this season:
2021 Vezina Trophy voting
Points (1st-7th)
1. Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK 108 (14-11-5)
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL 99 (12-12-3)
3. Philipp Grubauer, COL 36 (2-6-8)
4. Connor Hellebuyck, WPG 13 (2-0-3)
5. Semyon Varlamov, NYI 11 (1-1-3)
6. Juuse Saros, NSH 10 (0-1-7)
7. Mike Smith, EDM 2 (0-0-2)
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