2023 Vezina Trophy winner debated by NHL.com

The 2023 NHL Awards will be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on June 26 (8 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVA Sports). A total of 11 award winners will be announced at the ceremony, and the General Manager of the Year winner will be announced during the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft on June 28, also in Nashville.

In the lead-up to the events, NHL.com writers will debate who they think should win most of the awards. Today, Editor-in-Chief Bill Price, deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman and staff writer Jon Lane, debate the Vezina Trophy, which is given annually to the goalie voted the best at his position by NHL general managers.

RELATED: [Complete list of 2023 NHL Awards finalists | 2023 Jack Adams award winner debated]

The three finalists this year are Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins, Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders.

Kimelman:Casting a Vezina Trophy vote for Ullmark might be the easiest decision NHL general managers make all season. All the Bruins goalie did was tie Alexandar Georgiev of the Colorado Avalanche for first in wins (40), led goalies who played at least 40 games in goals-against average (1.89) and save percentage (.938), and scored a goal. Ullmark also was one of the biggest reasons the Bruins set the NHL record for wins (65) and points (135) in the regular season. He was great early (eight-game winning streak to open the season) and late (7-1-0 in his final eight starts), and almost as good on the road (.931 save percentage in 22 games) as he was at home (.943 in 27 games). Other goalies had really good seasons. Ullmark had a remarkable one.

Lane:On the surface, the decision to vote for Ullmark is easy. Dig deeper and the degree of difficulty is a lot harder. Like the Islanders and Sorokin, one can argue the Jets don't get near the Stanley Cup Playoffs without Hellebuyck's herculean efforts throughout the season, especially down the stretch for a team that didn't clinch a playoff berth until Game 81 despite top-flight goal-scorers (Mark Scheifele, 42; Kyle Connor, 31; Pierre-Luc Dubois, 27) and a defenseman (Josh Morrissey) many believe should have been a Norris Trophy finalist. Hellebuyck started 13 consecutive games from March 16 to April 11, going 8-5-0 with a 1.93 GAA, .927 save percentage and one shutout, including two wins against the Nashville Predators, the Jets' chief competitor for that final playoff berth. He capped that run with 33 saves in a playoff-clinching 3-1 win against the Minnesota Wild. That included 12 saves in the first period when Winnipeg was outshot 12-4 but led 2-0. Hellebuyck ended the season tied with Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers for third in the NHL in wins (37) and tied with Jeremy Swayman -- Ullmark's backup -- for fourth in save percentage (.920) among goalies to play at least 20 games. He was remarkable day in and day out for the Jets, especially when it mattered the most.

Price:Yes, Jon, I agree, Adam certainly took the easy pick, and I would not be surprised if it is Ullmark on the stage next Monday in Nashville. But just like you can't discount what Hellebuyck meant to the Jets, you can make the same case for Sorokin, who unquestionably was the Islanders' best player this season and the biggest reason New York was able to grab the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Sorokin was 31-22-7 with a 2.34 GAA, .924 save percentage and an NHL-best six shutouts in 62 games (60 starts). He was third in save percentage and sixth in GAA among goalies to play at least 20 games and tied for third in games played. And he had to work for those numbers, making at least 30 saves in 25 games, and he was 5-0-2 when making at least 40 saves in a game. When you consider the Islanders were 22nd in the NHL in averaging 2.95 goals per game, second lowest among the 16 teams to reach the postseason (Wild, 2.91 per game), it's clear Sorokin was relied upon heavily.

Kimelman: You all make good arguments, but Ullmark was the last line of defense on the best regular-season team in NHL history. He started 14 games after Bruins losses and was 12-2-0 with a 1.80 GAA, .934 save percentage and one shutout. His play is a huge reason Boston had two losing streaks all season -- 0-2-1 from Jan. 26-29 and 0-2-0 from March 12-14. Ullmark wasn't just good this season. His numbers were some of the best in the NHL since 2005-06. Among goalies to play at least 20 games in a season during the past 18 seasons, his save percentage was tied for fifth and his GAA tied for seventh. Ullmark also had an NHL-best .944 save percentage at even strength this season, fifth best since 2005-06, but he faced 1,209 shots at even strength; the only goalie to face more and have a better save percentage was Tim Thomas in 2011-12 (.947 on 1,486 shots). Ullmark was the last line of defense on the best regular-season team of all time and a major reason the Bruins lost consecutive games twice all season. However you want to add it up, Ullmark was the best goalie in the League, one of the best in nearly 20 years.

Lane:The moral of my story is voting for the best goalie in the NHL isn't easy, especially with Ullmark coming off what Adam correctly called a remarkable season. If I were to pick a favorite, it's Ullmark. If asked to choose a winner, it's Hellebuyck, the simple reason (like Sorokin and the Islanders, to Bill's point) is where would the Jets be without him? Below average, a crazy thought given they had a 42- and 31-goal scorer and the best defenseman not to be named a Norris finalist. I interviewed Hellebuyck Video: TOR@BOS: Ullmark stretches out with the blocker and he told me this season, his eighth in the NHL, was his best one because he's in a better place mentally and the fine details of his position have become second nature. Hellebuyck faced the third-most shots (1,964) and made the second-most saves (1,807) in the NHL -- he had led the League in shots against and saves in each of the previous four seasons -- while going 5-0-1 in six games with at least 40 saves. His game is meticulous. His performance was colossal. The results are worthy of the Vezina.

Price:Again, Ullmark will most likely win the award and you can't go wrong with Hellebuyck either, but I think Sorokin is the biggest reason the Islanders reached the postseason this year. Consider this: On Feb. 1, the Islanders were 10th in the Eastern Conference (25-22-5) with 30 games to go. From that date forward, Sorokin started 24 games, went 15-6-3, with a .926 save percentage (the best among goalies to play at least 24 games in that stretch) and a GAA of 2.29, also No. 1 in that span. And this was for a team chasing its playoff life, not one rolling into the postseason with just NHL records to worry about. The Islanders needed to win and that's just what they did with Sorokin in net. Again, I understand this is an award to encompasses the whole season and Ullmark clearly has better numbers, but when it comes to crunch time, Sorokin was the best and that needs to count for something.