As someone who eschewed the attention that came with his pursuit of an NHL record, Braden Holtby can easily be believed when he insists his candidacy for the Vezina Trophy isn’t that important.
“It’s pretty cool, obviously,” Holtby said on Thursday, hours before the Washington Capitals were set to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the teams’ second-round playoff series.
“It’s an honor. But, it’s one of those things that don’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things. We had a great regular season as a team, and now we’re trying to do that in the playoffs.”
Holtby was unveiled late Wednesday as one of three finalists for the award, which recognizes the best goaltender in the league. Those three candidates — the Los Angeles Kings’ Jonathan Quick and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Ben Bishop among them — earned the most votes among the 30 general managers prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs earlier this month.
The winner will be unveiled in Las Vegas on June 22 as part of the NHL’s annual awards show. Holtby finished fourth in balloting last year, earning seven second-place votes and five third-place votes, leaving him two points shy of the Minnesota Wild’s Devan Dubnyk in balloting and finalist status. The Montreal Canadiens’ Carey Price nearly unanimously won the award.
“Other than the recognition, for [Holtby], it’s validating what he’s been doing as a goalie,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said Thursday morning.
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“Obviously, having obvious talents that would go alongside all of that. Then, it’s a team concept. Not too many guys can win the Vezina without your teammates, and I think Braden will be the first to say that as well. It’s good on the group. It’s good on the backbone, and that’s been Braden all year.”
Holtby went 48-9-7 to tie Martin Brodeur for the most victories by a goaltender in a single season. His 2.20 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage each ranked in the top eight in the league, and he had a 22-game point streak from Nov. 12 to Jan. 14 that was the second-longest in franchise history.
If he were to win the award, he would be the third Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender in Capitals history, following Jim Carey in 1995-96 and Olaf Kolzig in 1999-2000.
“It’s a remarkable accomplishment to get 48 wins,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said earlier this month. “He’s played well. I think he’s earned it. He’s had a good workload. Numbers are all good. Five-on-five save percentage is good. I think he deserves it. I think he’ll get it.”
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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