The Vezina Trophy is given annually to the goalie regarded as the best in the league for that season. Over the last two seasons, Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck has been at the top. This season, the race feels more open. He's not in the conversation right now, at least not in most hockey circles, but Brandon Bussi deserves, at the very least, a spot at the table.
One of the league's best stories of the year, Bussi has been a winning machine for the Carolina Hurricanes. He's setting new league records almost every time he takes the ice, becoming the first goalie to win 19 of his first 23 starts after beating the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. He's 19-3-1 this season, sitting tied for 8th in wins, 12th in save percentage (.909), and third in GAA (2.15).
We've already talked about how his run is reminiscent of Andrew Hammond in 2015. Despite only playing half of the season, Hammond finished seventh for the Vezina while also getting Hart consideration. While his numbers were a little better than Bussi's by comparison, Bussi has the benefit of being with the team for the entire season, to this point.
It's one thing that Bussi is doing this for one of the best teams in the league. It's another than he has consistently done it without the team's complete arsenal of defensemen for most of it. Jaccob Slavin has hardly played. Shayne Gostisbehere is in and out of the lineup. K'Andre Miller has missed some time. It's quite remarkable when you stop to think about it.
There are plenty of worthy goalies in the conversation right now. I think Andrei Vasilevskiy would be my pick right now, leading the league in GAA and near the top in wins and save percentage. Scott Wedgewood is in the same boat. The Metropolitan Division houses a few other candidates in Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, and Logan Thompson.
Now, his case has plenty of holes in it. For starters, Bussi hasn't played the number of games that many other contenders have. For about a month, when both Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov were healthy, he was sparingly used. It wasn't until after Thanksgiving that Bussi started to see consistent time in the crease.
Another counterpoint is the amount of rubber that he faces per game. In 23 starts, Bussi averages just under 24 shots against per game. He has nine games facing 20 or fewer shots. It's one of the perks of playing behind a team that is very good at shot suppression. However, it can amplify your bad nights. That being said, he only has seven games with a save percentage below .900.
There are only two games that I really consider to be bad starts for Bussi. The first was in Toronto in November. He allowed four goals on 20 shots, but the offense picked him up to win, 5-4. The other was his start on New Year's Day. He allowed six goals in a 7-5 loss to Montreal, ending his point streak at 12 games. His bad nights have been very few and far between.
For each bad game, there are several other outstanding ones. You look at his win last Monday against Buffalo as being the gold standard, and his win in Ottawa on Saturday is right up there, too. Bussi might not be the most conventional goalie to be in the Vezina conversation, but he deserves to be there. There is plenty of time left in the season. As long as he keeps this up, he will only help his case.