The Vezina Trophy was named in honor of
Georges Vezina, an exceptional goaltender with the
Montreal Canadiens. Vezina collapsed during a game in
1925 and was diagnosed as having
tuberculosis, of which he died in 1926. Upon Vezina's death, the trophy was donated to the League by the Canadiens' owners,
Leo Dandurand, Louis Letourneau and
Joe Cattarinich to honour Vezina permanently. It was first awarded at the end of the
1926–27 NHL season to
George Hainsworth who had come to Montreal to succeed Vezina. The criteria for winning was variously reported. The
Montreal Gazette and
The Globe and Mail reported that it was 'to be awarded each year to the goaltender in the National Hockey League having the best
(goals against) average,' When Hainsworth won his third Vezina at the end of the
1928–29 NHL season, the trophy was reported to be for the 'most outstanding' goaltender in the league. However, later reports state that the trophy was based on the lowest goals against average (GAA). The Vezina Trophy was quite prestigious, as it was one of the three major personal awards given out by the National Hockey League at the time, along with the
Hart Trophy and the
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. The hockey media closely follow a tight "Vezina Trophy race," such as in , when
Frank Brimsek,
Turk Broda, and
Johnny Mowers were separated by only three goals entering the final weekend of the season.
1946 to 1981 In February 1946, the NHL stated that the trophy was to go to the team that allowed the fewest goals during the
regular season. The goaltender playing the most games for that team would be awarded the trophy. Manager
Tommy Gorman of the
Montreal Canadiens stated that if the trophy was awarded to his team, management would decide which of the Habs' two goaltenders (
Paul Bibeault and
Bill Durnan) would receive the trophy. Since it was common for goaltenders to start every game before 1950, the Vezina usually went to the goaltender with the lowest personal goals against average in the league; however, there were two notable exceptions.
George Hainsworth was awarded the inaugural trophy, while
Clint Benedict had the lowest GAA in . Hainsworth's Canadiens allowed fewer goals as a team than Benedict's
Maroons.
Wilf Cude had the lowest GAA in in 30 games split between the
Detroit Red Wings and Canadiens, but the Vezina was awarded to
Charlie Gardiner, who started all 48 games for the
Chicago Black Hawks, the team that allowed the fewest goals. The National Hockey League lengthened the schedule to 70 games starting in . Before then, it was very common for a goaltender to play every minute of his team's season, and only two Vezina winners—
Frank Brimsek in both (43 of 48 games) and (47 of 48 games) and
Bill Durnan in (40 of 50 games)—failed to start every game for their respective clubs. As teams started to use more than one goaltender in a season regularly, it became increasingly common for the goaltender with the lowest GAA not to be a member of the team that allowed the fewest goals. The Vezina continued to be awarded to the goaltender who started the most games for the team that allowed the fewest goals, but the Vezina winners of , , and did not have the lowest GAAs. The National Hockey League began allowing teammates to split the Vezina Trophy following the
1964–65 NHL season. The
Toronto Maple Leafs allowed 173 goals against (0 empty net goals), barely beating out Detroit's 175 goals against (3 empty net goals), and Chicago's 176 goals against (3 empty net goals). Toronto
Terry Sawchuk played 36 games for the Leafs with a GAA of 2.56, while his teammate
Johnny Bower played 34 games with a league-leading GAA of 2.38, but Sawchuk was to be the sole winner under the old criteria. During the season, the two agreed to split the $1000 prize money that came with the trophy if either of them won. At the end of the season, Sawchuk publicly stated that he would refuse the trophy if Bower would not also have his name inscribed. The NHL subsequently changed the rule to allow any goaltender on the team who allowed the fewest goals against to qualify for the Vezina if he played at least 25 games, and applied this rule retroactively to Sawchuk and Bower. Under this criterion,
Turk Broda would have shared the Vezina that
Al Rollins won in . This criterion was in place until .
Billy Smith of the
New York Islanders was the first winner of the Vezina under the current system. The
William M. Jennings Trophy, given to the goaltender(s) who play(s) a minimum of 25 games for the team that allows the fewest goals, serves the function of the old Vezina. The voting is conducted at the end of the regular season by the 32
general managers of the teams in the
National Hockey League, with all individual voters ranking their top three candidates on a 5–3–1 points system. Three finalists are named and the trophy is awarded at the NHL Awards ceremony after the playoffs.
Records and distinctions Jacques Plante holds the record for winning the most Vezinas with seven, followed by
Bill Durnan and
Dominik Hasek, who have won six each. Hasek has won the most awards under the current criterion of voting for the best individual goalie. ==Winners==