NHL Power Rankings: Vezina Trophy Rankings (Final Update)

April 29, 2026

Andy's final NHL power rankings for the top-10 Vezina Trophy candidates for the 2025-26 season. His top Vezina Trophy candidates of April 2026 include Jeremy Swayman, Brandon Bussi, Scott Wedgewood, more.

The 2025-26 NHL regular season is officially in the books, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing. With that being said, award season is just around the corner, and it is time to provide our final update to our top-10 Vezina Trophy rankings.

Be sure to check out our final Norris Trophy power rankings and Hart Trophy power rankings as well.

Let's dive into the current top-10 favorites to win the 2025-26 Vezina Trophy.

No. 10 - Dan Vladar, Philadelphia Flyers

There may not have been a goalie who improved his chances of earning Vezina votes in the final month more than Dan Vladar. Since March 1, the Flyers' top netminder would tally 11 wins, which tied him for the most in the sport during this stretch. Through 17 games, Vladar posted a .902 SV% and 2.44 GAA, playing a major role in bringing this team to the postseason.

Prior to this stretch, Vladar won just 18 of his first 35 games while taking nine regulation losses and six overtime losses.

Under the hood, the 28-year-old boasts impressive metrics that suggest he is more than worthy of taking a spot in the bottom half of our rankings. Per MoneyPuck.com, Vladar tallied 13.8 Goals Saved Above Expected, which placed him ninth among netminders who have played at least 35 games.

No. 9 - John Gibson, Detroit Red Wings

John Gibson was sitting outside the top five for most of the season after his dominant performance in the middle of the winter. However, Detroit's collapse on the stretch will keep him toward the bottom half of our final ranking. After posting a 4-7-1 record over his first 13 games in Detroit with a rough 3.59 GAA and a .865% SV%, Gibson quickly flipped the switch and emerged as one of the sport's best netminders.

From December 2 through February 26, Gibson posted a 19-5-1 record with a dominant 2.06 GAA and a .925% SV%. Among goalies, his win total and SV% all led the position. However, over his last 19 games, Gibson would return to his early-season form, posting a 6-10-2 record with a .893% SV%.

While he was looking like a legit Vezina candidate for half of the season, his late-season performance left a bad impression on the voters. He should still earn a handful of votes, but does not project to finish near the top half.

No. 8 - Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars

Oettinger took a slight step back from his 2024 marks but will remain in the back-half of our final Vezina rankings. This season, Oettinger once again took the majority of the starts in the Dallas crease and posted a 35-12-6 record with a 2.59 GAA and a .899 SV%. His 2.59 GAA marked the same mark from the 2024 campaign, but his SV% dropped 10 points.

Per MoneyPuck.com, Oettinger posted a solid 5.7 Goals Saved Above Expected, which placed him 21st at the position.

While his overall statistics are not overly impressive, Oettinger found his footing down the stretch, helping Dallas secure the No. 2 spot in the Central Division, posting a 10-2-1 record with a strong 2.29 GAA and a .906 SV%. During this noted period, he posted two shutouts.

Jake Oettinger with a BEAUTY of a save 🤩 pic.twitter.com/YzJwRsZUhV

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 27, 2026

No. 7 - Brandon Bussi, Carolina Hurricanes

Brandon Bussi was not expected to even take the net for the Hurricanes this season, but was pushed into a major role following the injury to Pyotr Kochetkov. Bussi held the starters' crease for most of the regular season, logging 39 games played with a 31-6-2 record. The "rookie" posted a 2.47 GAA with a modest .894% SV%.

Much of Bussi's struggles came over the second half as the first-year netminder was enjoying a dominant start to his time in the NHL. Over his first 23 games, Buss won 19 of them and only dropped three in regulation, while holding an elite 2.15 GAA and a .909% SV%. However, over his last 16, the wins would still come (winning 12 games), but he would hold at a much higher 2.93 GAA and a .870 SV%.

Per MoneyPuck.com, Bussi's 2.8 Goals Saved Above Expected was the worst mark among the 10 names on our list, which will keep him just outside the top half of our rankings. While he enjoyed a dominant start, like Gibson, his second half was far from Vezina-worthy.

No. 6 - Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers

Even though Igor Shesterkin's team finished at the bottom of the league, he was far from the reason for their disappointing campaign. In fact, the Russian netminder enjoyed one of the most impressive seasons of his career and should finish near the top five in Vezina voting this spring.

In 51 games, Shesterkin posted a 25-19-6 record and a strong 2.50 GAA with a .912 SV%. This was his lowest GAA since the 2022 season and his best SV% since the 2023 campaign.

While he does not shine in win totals, Shesterkin appears to be a Vezina candidate based on his advanced metrics. According to MoneyPuck.com, the Ranger goalie tallied the sixth-most Goals Saved Above Expected, and tallied the sixth-highest GAA better than expected. This is even more impressive as Shesterkin logged the 14th most minutes of ice time at the position despite missing half a month of play due to an injury.

With more consistent play in front of him, Shesterkin is more than capable of leading the team back to the postseason in 2026.

Um... Lars Eller just walked through New York's D and got robbed. Where did that come from? #GoSensGo

Shesterkin doing his thing. Great save after great save. pic.twitter.com/vnWDncM0u8

— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) March 24, 2026

No. 5 - Scott Wedgewood, Colorado Avalanche

Even though he played behind the President's Trophy winners, Scott Wedgewood turned in a masterful regular season. Over 45 games played, Wedgewood posted an elite 31-6-6 record with a dominant 20.2 GAA and a .921% SV%. Among netminders, his SV% and GAA both led the sport among the goalies who played in 30 games.

Additionally, his four shutouts tie him for the third-most in the sport, trailing only Ilya Sorokin and Joel Hofer.

Under the hood, Wedgewood was just as impressive and suggests that even though his offense put the most pucks in the opposing net, Wedgewood is more than holding his own for this club. Per MoneyPuck.com, Wedgewood placed fifth in Goals Saved Above Expected (23.1) while earning the fifth-highest WAR at the position.

No. 4 - Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals

Logan Thompson's club also fell just short of the postseason but remains near the top of the power ranking. Thompson enjoyed a strong showing for the Capitals in 2024, but took on his highest workload this past season and did not disappoint. Over a season-high 58 games played, Thompson posted a 32-21-6 record with a 2.44 GAA and a .912% SV%.

This was a slight improvement over the 2.49 GAA and .910% SV% he posted in 2024, but in a much smaller 43-game stint. He nearly brought this team into the postseason spot over his final 12 games, winning nine of them while posting a .910 SV% with two shutouts.

However, according to the underlying metrics, Thompson may have been the sport's most impressive netminder this season. Per MoneyPuck.com, the Calgary native tallied a league-high 29.3 Goals Saved Above Expected and earned the highest WAR.

No. 3 - Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

Jeremy Swayman turned in a dominant showing after the Olympic Break to power Boston to the No. 1 Wild Card and deserves a nod within the top-3 of our ranking. From February 28 on, Swayman posted an elite 2.24 GAA with a .918% SV%. Among goalies during this stretch, Swayman posted the fifth-highest SV% despite playing nearly five more games than the very name above him.

During the first half, Swayman held a much higher 2.92 GAA with a .903 SV%, suggesting how dominant his second half of play was.

However, as noted with Thompson, Swayman shines when looking at its underlying metrics. According to MonyePuck.com, the Boston netminder totaled the second-highest Goals Saved Above Expected (28.3) while posting the second-highest GAA Better than Expected, trailing only Wedgewood of the Avalanche. Additionally, Swayman was one of just four goalies to have a WAR above 4.0.

No. 2 - Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders

While Sorokin had a tough finish to the regular season, he remains in the No. 2 spot on our ranking. For most of the seasons, Sorokin was viewed as the 1A/1B of the Vezina ranking alongside our No. 1 option. However, over the last two weeks of the regular season, the Islanders fell out of the playoff picture, and Sorokin's play declined sharply.

Over his last seven games, the netminder posted a 1-6 record with a 4.17 GAA and a /846% SV%, which all but put a bow on his chances of winning the Vezina. However, before this disastrous skid, Sorokin was playing at a near-MVP level. Over his first 48 games of the campaign, Sorokin held a 28-18-2 record with a strong 2.47 GAA and a /914% SV%.

His seven shutouts led the sport, and he would have likely finished with the top three in terms of SV% and GAA if it were not for his disastrous conclusion to the campaign.

Per MoneyPuck.com, the 30-year-old finished third at the position in WAR and tallied the third-most Goals Saved Above Expected (25.3). In high-danger outings, nobody was better than Sorokin, as he posted the highest SV% against high-danger unblocked shots.

No. 1 - Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

Sitting in the No. 1 spot is Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Big Cat had some fierce competition during the season, but was able to emerge as the leading force at the conclusion of the regular season.

Overall, Vasilevskiy led the sport in wins (39), while holding a strong .912% SV% and a 2.31 GAA. He tallied two shutouts and only dropped 15 games in regulation. However, Vasilevskiy's slow start brought his numbers down even further. Over the first five games, Vasilevskiy picked up five losses (three in regulation) while holding an .885% SV% with a 3.41 GAA.

However, over his next 53 contests, the two-time Stanley Cup Champion would post a 39-12-2 record with a .914% SV% and a 2.20 GAA. During this stretch, Vasilevskiy would trail only Wedgewood in SV% (among those who played more than 35 games) and would be the only goalie to have more than 35 wins.

Under the hood, the Russian was just elite, ranking fourth in Goals Saved Above Expected (24.7).

HUGE save from Andrei Vasilevskiy 👏 pic.twitter.com/P7vRZLfcYo

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 24, 2026

On the Outside Looking In

• Filip Gustavsson, MIN
• Jakub Dobes, MTL
• Jet Greaves, CBJ
• Karel Vejmelka, UTH

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