Tuukka Rask Named Finalist For 2020 Vezina Trophy

BOSTON - The National Hockey League announced today, July 17, that Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has been named a finalist for the 2020 Vezina Trophy, given annually to the NHL's best goaltender as voted on by NHL general managers.

The other finalists for the award were Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebucyk and Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Rask previously won the Vezina Trophy in 2014, a season in which he compiled a 36-15-6 record with seven shutouts, a 2.04 goals against average and .930 save percentage.

This season, Rask posted a 26-8-6 record with five shutouts, a 2.12 goals against average and .929 save percentage. He led the NHL in both goals against average and save percentage (minimum 30 starts) and was tied for second in shutouts. The 33-year-old was honored this season for playing in his 500th career NHL game on October 23, 2019. He is the only goaltender in franchise history to reach the milestone, and he currently sits atop the team's all-time leaderboard with 291 wins.

Rask has already received recognition for his 2019-20 season, as he and teammate Jaroslav Halak were awarded the William M. Jennings Trophy, given annually to the goaltenders who have played at least 25 games for the team with the fewest goals allowed over the course of the regular season. The pair combined to allow just 167 goals through 70 regular season games for an NHL-best average of 2.39 goals per game. The Dallas Stars ranked second behind the Bruins with 174 goals allowed through 69 games for an average of 2.52 goals per game.

If Rask were to win, he would join Sergei Bobrovsky as the only active players to win the Vezina Trophy twice. Dominik Hasek (6), Martin Brodeur (4), Patrick Roy (3), Tim Thomas (2) and Ed Belfour (2) are the only other goaltenders in league history to win multiple Vezina Trophies in the modern era (since 1981).