Vezina Trophy finalists unveiled

Pekka Rinne will try again to win the
Vezina Trophy
for the first time after finishing second in 2010-11 and 2014-15, and third in 2011-12.
The Nashville Predators goalie joins first-time finalists Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the trophy awarded to the goalie voted the best at this position.

The winner will be announced at the 2018 NHL Awards presented by Hulu at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on June 20.

Rinne, 35, was third in the NHL with 42 wins behind Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy (44 each), and helped the Predators to their first
Presidents' Trophy
and their records for wins (53) and points (117). His eight shutouts were a Predators record and tied Vasilevskiy for the NHL lead. Rinne ranked fifth in goals-against average (2.31) and seventh in save percentage (927), and won 11 straight games from Feb. 19-March 19.
Hellebuyck, 24, is the first Vezina finalist in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history. His 44 wins broke Tom Barrasso's record for most by a United States-born goaltender (43 with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-93), and his nine straight wins to end the regular season is a franchise record. He finished eighth in GAA (2.36) and 10th in save percentage (.924).
Vasilevskiy, 23, helped the Lightning to the best record in the Eastern Conference (54-23-5) and the best season in their history. He became the 12th NHL goalie to finish a season with at least a share of the NHL lead in wins prior to his 24th birthday and the first since Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens in 2010-11. He finished with a 2.62 GAA and .920 save percentage and won a Lightning record nine straight games from Oct. 9-30. Vasilevskiy could be the first Lightning goalie to win the Vezina; Ben Bishop finished third in 2014 and was the runner-up in 2016.