By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer
SUNRISE, Fla. — Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck has won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender, becoming the first at the position to do so since Carey Price a decade ago.
Hellebuyck was unveiled as the top MVP vote-getter on an awards show Thursday night prior to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, hosted by actor and former Arizona State wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa.
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl finished second in the Hart voting and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov third, a single point ahead of Colorado’s reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon, as chosen by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Hellebuyck was a landslide winner of the Vezina as picked by general managers, receiving 31 of 32 first-place votes.
Hellebuyck won the Vezina for a second year in a row and for the third time in his career (2020, 2024). He backstopped the Jets to the Presidents’ Trophy for the best regular season and the William Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed before losing in the second round of the playoffs to Dallas.
Price was the last to pull off the Hart-Vezina double in 2015. Hellebuyck is just the sixth goalie to do it, joining Price, Jose Theodore in 2002, Dominik Hasek in 1997 and ’98 and Jacques Plante in ’62.
The broadcast showed footage of Hellebuyck’s family surprising him with the trophies earlier this spring at their home in Michigan. Hellebuyck’s goaltending partner in Winnipeg, Eric Comrie, was also part of the reveal.
“Looking back, I’ll probably picture this day as one of the greatest of my career,” Hellebuyck said of receiving the two trophies.
Hellebuyck had a dominant regular season for the Jets, collecting a league-leading 47 wins. He also led qualified goalies in shutouts (eight) and goals-against average (2.00) with the second-best save percentage (.925). Hellebuyck’s season also included one eight-game win streak and an 11-game point streak (9-0-2).
Kucherov, the Art Ross Trophy winner for leading all scorers with 122 points this season, was also chosen for the Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding player, as voted on by his peers. The Russian winger was the MVP in 2019 when the Lightning finished atop the standings.
Draisaitl, the Rocket Richard Trophy recipient for scoring a league-high 52 goals, won the Hart in 2020 after the season was cut short by the pandemic. He became the first German player to be MVP.
Kings captain Anze Kopitar won the Lady Byng for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct for a third time, an award announced earlier Thursday.
A majority of the awards were already presented over the past few weeks, given out as surprises for the first time with no advance notice. Colorado’s Cale Makar got the Norris as the top defenseman, Florida’s Aleksander Barkov the Selke as the best defensive forward, Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson won the Calder Trophy as the league’s most proficient rookie and Washington’s Spencer Carbery the Jack Adams as Coach of the Year.
Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin won the Mark Messier Award for Leadership.
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