This one is one of the more closely contested awards of the season. All three nominees, Roberto Luongo, Tim Thomas, and Pekka Rinne, can have a case made for them. Roberto Luongo would be the obvious choice here, 2.11 GAA, with a .928 S%going 38-15-7, with 4 Shutouts. Add that to his team having a patch-work defense in front of him almost the whole year.
Pekka Rinne also had a fantastic season, posting a 2.12 GAA, .930 S%, going 33-22-9, with 6 Shutouts. He carried the Predators throughout the year, and is obviously the whole reason they are in the second round. Rinne is the goalie Nashville has been looking for to compliment their defensive play. Also known as: A goalie to help their team that can't score.
The obvious winner of the Vezina though is Tim Thomas. The guy had a historic year: 2.00 GAA, .938 S%, going 35-11-9, with 9 Shutouts. At one point in the year his S% was at a staggering .958, and it wasn't in December. He was unbeatable, and the whole reason Boston was anything this season. The guy was amazing and has continued to make huge saves. Clear cut winner.
My Inaugural Kirk McLean Trophy has to go to Roberto Luongo. This was kind of tough, because Cory Schneider came out of left field and had a great year himself, but we have seen backup goalies come up with big seasons every now and then. The decision was easy when I looked at Luongo's previous seasons: his lowest GAA ever (by about .017 as well), third highest win total and second lowest S%. It's clear who deserves this trophy.
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