When it was announced that Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman was a finalist for the 2025-26 Vezina Trophy, which is awarded annually to the goalie voted the best at his position by NHL general managers, it came as a surprise to some. The other two finalists were Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It's safe to say that Vasilevskiy feels like a yearly finalist and rightfully so. However, there was a case for Swayman to win the award this season. However, when the dust settled, it was Vasilevskiy who took home the hardware.
Jeremy Swayman gets fuel for 2026-27 after losing out on the Vezina Trophy
It wasn't really a surprise to some that Vasilevskiy took home the award, but if you know Jeremy Swayman and how competitive he is, well, he'll use this as fuel for next season. Vasi was the runaway winner with 114 points, with Sorokin finishing second with 51, five points ahead of Swayman.
Vasilevskiy collected 39 wins this past season and finished with a .912 save percentage and a 2.31 goals-against-average, finishing second among goalies with at least 45 starts. He was a big reason why the Lightning secured second place in the Atlantic Division and home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens.
As for Swayman, he went 31-18-4 with a 2.71 GAA and a .908 SV% with two shutouts. Like Vasilevskiy was for the Bolts, Swayman was a major reason why the Black and Gold made the playoffs as the first Eastern Conference wild-card this past season.
This was a major bounce-back season for Swayman after the disaster of the 2024-25 season, which was after his contract holdout during training camp and never getting his footing on the ground once he began playing. Again, if there is something we know all too well about Swayman is that he can use anything for motivation for next season. Finishing third in the Vezina Trophy voting is something that will likely drive him this offseason.
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