Talk:Vezina Trophy

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[added by Robert A.: do you agree?] Starting with the 1982-1983 season, the goal keeper judged the best in terms of his ability, skills (and not only on his goal average) gets the trophy...

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Totally unrelated to the article per se, but I am just interested if anybody knows: why did the NHL switch the criteria for the Vezina AND create a new trophy (Jennings)? Why not leave Vezina's criteria the same and have the Jennings Trophy be for the new criteria? I'd be interested to know if anybody with some hockey history background could answer that.

The Vezina was one of the oldest and most prestigious awards in hockey, so I would imagine they wanted to prestige of the name "Vezina" to go along with the voting for the most outstanding goaltender. §daemonw — Preceding unsigned comment added by Daemonw (talk • contribs) 00:45, 15 August 2013 (UTC)

Player still active
I don't really understand the problem with saying "Player still active in the NHL" instead of just "Player still active". The pros of the first version is that it leaves no risk of misunderstanding since there are other icehockey leagues and some players may still have an active career in any of these. What is the big con with saying it? JdeJ (talk) 20:04, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Needs Rewording
Quote: "Under the original definition, there would often be multiple winners from the same team during one season. In the 1973-74 NHL season, Tony Esposito of the Chicago Black Hawks and Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers finished tied for the fewest goals against, the only time that there would be a tie between two players from different teams."

Under the old definition, the Vezina went to the team that allowed the fewest goals that season. Up until the mid-1960s, teams generally used only one goaltender, so his name was engraved. After that, any goaltender who appeared in 25 or more games was listed on the trophy. This is not so much "multiple winners," but rather shared credit. 1973-74 was simply the first time that two teams tied for the lead in fewest goals, and it happens that both were one-goalie teams.WHPratt (talk) 17:40, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

The rules used to specify that only the primary goalie qualified. In 1950-51 the Maple Leafs led the league in fewest goals, and Al Rollins got the Vezina, playing in 40 games. Turk Broda played in 31 (one shared game, apparently) but went unrecognized.

In 1964-65, again for the Leafs, Terry Sawchuk (36 games) and Johnny Bower (34 games) split the season almost equally as the team posted the best goals-against record. This led the league officials to revise the rules, listing both players, so long as each played in at least 25 games.

It would seem that Broda should have been recognized for '50-51 retroactively.WHPratt (talk) 04:27, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

Jennings vs Vezina
To answer the question posed above: The Vezina trophy had a long history, but it was generally considered a weakness that it honored the team first and the individual indirectly. A team's primary goalie might have been the best in the league, as measured by individual goals-against average, but if the team's backup goalie(s) allowed too many goals, the trophy might go elsewhere. Supposedly, it was Glenn Hall vs Terry Sawchuk vs Jacques Plante, head-to-head. . . but the race also included inivsible records of the Detroit and Montreal backups who filled in for a few games compared to Hall (who always played every game). The subs could decide the race for the stars.

There were numerous campaigns to award the Vezina in the same manner as the Hart. When the last of these succeeded, the historic Vezina got the new and popular criterion, and the new Jennings Trophy picked up the less-highly regarded team criterion.WHPratt (talk) 17:40, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

criteria for winning
The criteria for winning the Vezina must have changed before the 80s. In the first season, Hainsworth was not the goalie who gave up the least goals or had the lowest goals-against average. I'm not surprised it's not covered in this list. The NHL and the HHOF web sites only mention the change in the 80s. I think we will need to update the history of the criteria for winning. I'm going to start researching this from old newspapers and sources. Any suggestions about any books that discuss the history of the trophy? ʘ alaney2k  ʘ ( talk ) 15:44, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

I also have questions about the criteria for winning. There are newspaper references from at least 1933 on talking about "Vezina Trophy Standings." For example:

"Giving players on United States teams a clean sweep of the three personal awards (edit: Hart, Lady Byng, Vezina), "Tiny Thompson, goalie of the Boston Bruins, has captured the Georges Vezina Memorial Trophy, for the best goaltending record of the season. ... Both Shore and Boucher (edit: winners of the Hart and Byng) were chosen by sports editors some weeks ago as Members of the Canadian Press All-Star Team, but the voters of that team selected John Ross Roach, of the Detroit Red Wings, for the goaltending assignment. Thompson beat out Roach for the lowest goals against record in the closing week or two of the campaign. Thompson let 88 pucks into his cage against 93 for Roach." http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E-kuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vdsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6621,3298862&dq=vezina+trophy&hl=en

"Unless Rangers can pluck nine or more goals past Tiny Thompson Sunday, while Karakas of Chicago holds Maroons scoreless, the Boston netminder wins the Vezina Trophy" http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jX8tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=I5kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2107,2476396&dq=vezina+trophy&hl=en

"In 16 years of competition for the trophy awarded annually to the goalkeeper with the lowest "goals against" record during the regular season, only three backstops who have won the honor have allowed more than 100 goals in a single campaign " http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WLtTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cDgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2931,3292164&dq=vezina+trophy&hl=en

There are others. Does anyone have an actual copy of the article used as citation in this Wikipedia article to check that one as well? I believe that at least as early as 1933 the Vezina was similar to today's Jennings Trophy, as opposed to it being voted on or something similar. -hockeygenius320

The criteria of the Vezina did NOT change in 1946. Neither NHL.com nor LegendsofHockey.com (both cited in the wikipedia article) list the change. Only one newspaper article is cited for the change, and it contradicts many earlier newspaper articles that cite GAA as the criteria for the Vezina. In fact, I found an article from only a few months later in 1946 that specifically states that the criteria for the Vezina did NOT change:

Clarence S. Campbell, president of the National Hockey League said last night at a dinner in his honor that the league will review the system under which annual awards to players are made. He said some changes may be made in the methods of selecting the winners of the Calder Memorial Trophy for the best rookie, the Hart Trophy for the Most Valuable Player and the Lady Byng Trophy for the Most Sportsmanlike Player. These awards are now made after a poll of hockey writers in league cities. He indicated that the selection process for the fourth award, the Vezina Trophy for the league goalie with the least number of goals scored against him, would not be altered. "The Vezina Trophy is a matter of pure mathematics," Campbell said.

Windsor Daily Star, Oct 31, 1946

The only change to the Vezina criteria before 1982 was to allow goalies from the same team to share the award if they both reached the minimum number of games. Daemonw (talk) 22:24, 18 May 2012 (UTC)daemonw


 * This should have been an RFC. Hainsworth, the first winner, did not have the lowest GAA. It was definitely the "most valuable goaltender" criteria at first. Certainly, it would always closely track the lowest GAA, but at first it started out like today's criteria, then became simply GAA. For another thing, both NHL.com and legendsofhockey.com are filled with errors - see the listings of the years for Hall of Fame induction. &#x0298; alaney2k  &#x0298; ( talk ) 14:53, 21 June 2012 (UTC)
 * For example, look at the induction date for Dan Bain, Art Ross on legendsofhockey.net - it says 1945, but they were actually inducted in 1949. You can find that out by reading the HHOF's own book on honoured members, which lists 1949, disagreeing with their own web site. You can also see on legendsofhockey.net that the O'Brien was awarded in 1918, 1919 and 1920, when it was not awarded, as the NHA had suspended, and the Canadiens held onto the trophy. &#x0298; alaney2k  &#x0298; ( talk ) 15:09, 21 June 2012 (UTC)


 * I believe the references and the previous version of this page showed that the award was given to the goaltender playing the most games for the team allowing the least goals during the regular season. This is consistent with why Hainsworth won the Vezina in 1927.  There is no need to introduce a 1946 separation when the criteria was the same before and after.  The discrepancy in perceived criteria was mentioned in the previous version of the page as well.  99.246.116.118 (talk) 02:15, 22 June 2012 (UTC)


 * No, there were no references at the time of the donation stating that it would be based on the team. None of the references at the time show that. &#x0298; alaney2k  &#x0298; ( talk ) 03:42, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Maybe not specifically indicating team but more and better references show that it was for the statistically lowest goals against average than a vague subjectively chosen "best" or "top" goaltender. In 1946 the criteria wasn't changed, just clarified which doesn't deserve a break in the list.  Hainsworth won in 1927 for the exact same criteria as Hodge in 1964, whereas Bower only won in 1965 because it had changed to allow multiple winners.  99.246.116.118 (talk) 06:29, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * It was clear in 1927 that it was for the goaltender. It changed to an award based on the team in 1946. Of course, by then, teams were regularly using multiple goaltenders. It would be useful to get a date for when they allowed multiple goaltenders on the trophy. And the 25 minimum. &#x0298; alaney2k  &#x0298; ( talk ) 14:20, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I have merged the lists and the notes. This should be satisfactory for everyone. &#x0298; alaney2k  &#x0298; ( talk ) 14:45, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

At any rate, it should be clear that it changed from the 'top goaltender' whether based on GAA or other, to the goaltender of the team with the best GAA in 1946. &#x0298; alaney2k  &#x0298; ( talk ) 16:11, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

Player also winning the Stanley Cup in the same season
I removed some shading that showed the Vezina winner also winning the Cup. I'm not against it per say, but here are a couple of things 1. This is about an individual award that adding Cup winners seems a bit unnecessary since its about the individual and not their teams overall performance. 2. while that not be a big concern to me the real reason I removed it was that it was only done to the recent winners section if the coloring is going to be added it needs to include every winner and not just the ones from the modern era of the trophy. Showing only 4 or so guys skews the perception especially considering Jacques Plante's first 5 wins all happened in the same year the Habs won the Cup. --Mo Rock...Monstrous (leech44) 19:09, 12 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I see no reason for it. One could, following that logic, imagine any number of important things for which we could highlight.    Ravenswing   19:15, 12 June 2012 (UTC)
 * I also see no reason for it. The Vezina is a regular season award, so winning the Cup in the same year is more trivia than anything.  If someone wants to include a line like "The following Vezina winners also won the Cup:" under the "notes" subsection of the history of the award, it could work.  I also agree that if this is highlighted, it needs to be for all Vezina winners, not just post-1981. Daemonw (talk) 18:28, 14 June 2012 (UTC)daemonw

the history of the Vezina

 * As far as I can tell, only one newspaper source even mentions a change in the Vezina criteria in 1946 and it is a single paragraph at the end of an article that is mostly about Babe Pratt. That article is directly contradicted by another in 1946, where the NHL president himself says the criteria did not change.
 * In the 1930s, there are articles about the Vezina Trophy race every year that make it obvious the trophy is based on GAA. Why was the paragraph on this removed?
 * 100% of Vezina Trophys from 1927-1965 went to the starting goalie of the TEAM that allowed the fewest goals against, just like the HHOF site says it was awarded. Why was the paragraph explaining this  (and the 1927 and 1934 cases where the goalie with the lowest personal GAA was not on the team with the lowest GAA) removed?
 * Why was the description of the change in 1965 removed?

Daemonw (talk) 18:09, 22 June 2012 (UTC)daemow


 * The award was initially intended for the top -goaltender- with the lowest GAA, none of the references say it would go to the goalie of the team with the lowest GAA. Of course, then, there was usually just one goalie. In 1946, they clarified this to the team. I think this is all in accordance with the facts. The 1965 change should certainly go back in. &#x0298;  alaney2k  &#x0298; ( talk ) 18:30, 22 June 2012 (UTC)


 * I have merged back the text of the history and notes sections. As for the splits, I'm not sure why a split in 1946 would not be okay but a split in 1965 would be. &#x0298; alaney2k  &#x0298; ( talk ) 19:10, 22 June 2012 (UTC)


 * Looks pretty good. Sorry for not putting up a RFC; I had read quite a few articles from the 1930s that made it clear the trophy was based on GAA and went about changing it.  The problem is that it seems that nobody in 1927 actually knew what the criteria for the award was supposed to be.  It seems very unlikely that the early Vezina Trophy was ever voted on; we have near-complete voting records for the Hart, Lady Byng, Calder, etc, as well as Postseason All Star teams going back to the beginning (derived from newspapers; now compiled on the history section of the website hfboards.com). But no voting records for the Vezina ever surfaced.  And by the 1930s, newspapers had caught on that the Vezina was based on GAA, but they seem confused as to whether it went to the goalie with the lowest GAA or the goalie of the team with the lowest GAA. Since the starting goalie was expected to play every game, maybe team GAA was credited to the starting goalie, even if he didn't start every game?


 * Glad to see a secondary source for the 1946 "change." It seems that it wasn't so much a change as codifying existing practice. That would be consistent with the articles from the 1930s and Campbell's declaration in 1946 that the trophy's criteria didn't actually change.  The NHL did, in fact, change the way they distributed votes for the other three major awards in 1946, so perhaps they thought finally codifying the criteria of the Vezina was a good idea while they were at it.  It's possible there actually was no official criteria for the trophy before 1946, but in practice it always went to the main goalie of the team with the lowest GAA.


 * The 1965 change was a minor one; it makes sense to consolidate the two tables. Daemonw (talk) 22:59, 22 June 2012 (UTC)daemonw


 * Sorry if it was a bit clumsy the way I did it. &#x0298; alaney2k  &#x0298; ( talk ) 06:03, 23 June 2012 (UTC)

Vézina with an é
The trophy was named after Georges Vézina, a French-Canadian whose name is written with an accent, as reflected in his own Wikipedia page. I appreciate that the NHL has dropped the accent from the name of the trophy in English, but the man's name should still be written with an accent in this article. I tried editing the correct spelling in today, but user Ravenswing reverted it back to the incorrect spelling with no accent. Eulalie Écho (talk) 17:11, 1 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Were this the French Wikipedia, I'd agree with you. It is, however, the English Wikipedia, and a longstanding practice on hockey articles is for diacritical marks to be used only on pertinent player pages and for articles where French or international standards of spelling would predominate, or where there are a paucity of English-language sources, such as the LNAH or the various European leagues.   Ravenswing   21:15, 1 February 2015 (UTC)
 * May you gain enough fame for your name to be misspelled in future generations. Eulalie Écho (talk) 03:01, 2 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Since my RL name comes without diacritics, you'll perhaps forgive me for not laying awake nights convulsed over the prospect.   Ravenswing   06:26, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

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