Jacob Fowler is coming off another strong performance on Tuesday night. In honor of Carey Price Night, the Montreal Canadiens goalie stood tall, stopping 22 of 24 shots against in an overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild.
It was performance that the writers deems worthy of the second star of the game.
With that performance, Fowler now has a .925 save percentage and a 2.14 goals against average. Those rank third and sixth among NHL goalies, respectively. According to MoneyPuck, he has a plus-12.3 goals saved above expected, which is second in the NHL.
It gives him not just a case for the Calder Trophy, rookie of the year, but he's making a case for the Vezina Trophy, best goalie that season.
Price stood out by winning the Vezina alongside the Hart Trophy, which is a rare feat. It didn't happen again for another decade. However, this combination that Fowler could nab would be on another level of rare.
Rarest of Feats
There's a good chance the person reading this wasn't even alive or old enough to remember the last time a goalie won both the Calder and the Vezina same season. The legendary goalie, Ed Belfour won both during the 1988-89 season.
It hasn't happened since.
Fowler was not even 3 years old when the guy who last achieved this feat played his last NHL game, which came after 17 seasons in the NHL. A NHL player took the ice without a helmet more recently.
A goalie winning the Calder in general is already rare these days. The last one to take it home was Steve Mason in 2008-09. Fowler wouldn't have even been in Kindergarten yet.
One award would already be feat, but it shows that Fowler has a true chance to make history.
What stands in his way?
This is a two answer question. There's who are his competitors for either award.
For the Vezina, a strong early contender is Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild. He's tied with Fowler for a .925 save percentage, and his plus-15.9 goal saved above expected leads the NHL.
Their save percentages are the best among goalies who have played at least eight games, filtering out Linus Ullmark and Igor Shesterkin, who are both hurt. It could potentially be a tight race between these two, with the Bruins' Jeremy Swayman not far behind.
As for the Calder, Fowler is a strong favorite. There are other good candidates, such as the Maple Leafs' Gavin McKenna and the Golden Knights' Trevor Connelly. But they're not playing out their minds relative to how Fowler has looked. They're just looking really good as rookies.
He's not running away with it. Again, goalies typically don't win the award, so how he is relative to his position may not matter.
So, while he still has to put on a strong season to win either award, whether or not he makes history is dependant on if he can win the Vezina more than if he can win the Calder.
We'll see how the remainder of the season plays out, but it's a feat that is quickly becoming worth monitoring.
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