A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens On Pace To Dominate NHL Awards

By Ken MacMillan

Jun 24, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; A detailed view of the Ted Lindsay Award as Carey Price talks to media during the 2015 NHL Awards at MGM Grand. Price won four awards on the night. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 24, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; A detailed view of the Ted Lindsay Award as Carey Price talks to media during the 2015 NHL Awards at MGM Grand. Price won four awards on the night. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Vezina Trophy – Carey Price

Well, we may as well start with the most obvious one. Carey Price dominated the NHL Awards two years ago. Last season he was off to an incredible start before being injured. This season appears it will end with a long night of acceptance speeches for the Canadiens goaltender again.

Price has a record of 13-3-1 in 17 starts this season. He has an incredible 1.71 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage. It will be tough to keep up this pace for the rest of the season, but based on Price’s recent performance, his stats shouldn’t drop off very far.

In the last three seasons, including last year’s 12 game campaign, he has posted seasons of .927, .933 and .934 SV%. So his SV% may dip this season, but he can keep it at or above .930 better than anyone in the league.

Price’s competition don’t have track record that he does

Though his stats are eye-popping in nature, Price does have some competition. His 1.71 GAA is unbelievable but is actually third in the league. Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins (1.64) and Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild (1.67) are first and second.

Price does lead the league in SV%, but Dubnyk is just behind (.945). Rask has a .938 SV% which puts him in the Vezina Trophy conversation as well. However, of the three, Price’s track record would suggest he can maintain his performance longer term than the other pair, especially Dubnyk.

It’s a tight race right now, but with the defensively conscious Wild and Bruins helping their goaltenders far more often than the Canadiens throw Price a life raft, the voters will keep putting Price at the top of their ballot until someone really steps ahead of him.

No one has done that yet, and I wouldn’t expect anyone to be able to do so in the next few months. The award for best goaltender is named after one of the first Canadiens goaltenders, but their current netminder will have his name all over it in a few years.

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