The Vezina Statistics: Miller, Bryzgalov, Brodeur

With Ryan Miller, Ilya Bryzgalov and Martin Brodeur as this year’s Vezina Trophy nominees, the balloting should be tight.

Everyone has their theory on who should win and why, but the numbers don’t suggest a single runaway winner.

Martin Brodeur, strangely, was considered a surprise by many to be nominated. His league-leading 9 shutouts, 45 wins, and 77 games played say otherwise.

Was any goaltender as vital to their team’s success this year as Ilya Bryzgalov? In addition to team success, his 8 shutouts, .920 save percentage and league-leading 8 shootout wins make a strong case for his chance to walk away with the prize.

Many believe Ryan Miller should be the runaway winner of the Vezina Trophy. Miller owns a better goals against average and save percentage than his colleagues, while also facing more shots and making more saves. A strong Olympic performance further cements the impression he’s made in ‘09-10.

Here’s a further breakdown of the Vezina nominees by the numbers…

RYAN MILLER
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Some observations on Miller’s numbers:

- He is in the top 8 league-wide in every non-shootout category

- Among the three nominees, Miller leads in four categories; neither Bryzgalov or Brodeur lead as many categories.

- Despite being the favourite for the award, he did not finish first overall in any single statistical category.

- With a sparkling save percentage and goals against average, Miller managed four less shutouts than Brodeur.

- He did not finish second amongst the three nominees in any category — he finished either 1st or 3rd.

- The three statistics most heavily focused on by voters are likely GAA, save percentage, and wins. Miller’s visual stat line of 41 wins, a 2.22 goals against average and a .929 save percentage look the best of the three nominees.

MARTIN BRODEUR
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Some observations on Brodeur’s numbers:

- Ranking outside the top-10 in save percentage hurts Marty’s chances considerably.

- An astounding 9 shutouts will likely garner a great deal of second place votes.

- In terms of nominee rank, Brodeur finishes first or second in all but one category (save percentage).

- Regardless of their final places in the standings, the Devils are widely regarded as superior to the Coyotes and Sabres at the time of voting. Will that factor in?

ILYA BRYZGALOV
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Some observations on Bryzgalov’s numbers

- With comparable numbers overall to Ryan Miller, Ilya’s 8 shutouts may have earned him some first place votes over Miller (5 shutouts).

- Owning the league’s best shootout record will likely be ignored by voters.

- As the Western Conference is unanimously considered more competitive than the East, will Bryzgalov’s numbers be more respected by voters? The Pacific Division is more respected for its competitiveness than the Northwest Division.

As we see it, the award should belong to Ryan Miller. The race comes down to Bryzgalov and Miller, largely because most believe the Coyotes and Sabres would have missed the playoffs if not for spectacular netminding. As the Devils showed last year without Brodeur for a substantial chunk of time, they are built well enough to sustain goaltending losses. The Sabres showed that without Miller they are a middle to lower tier Eastern Conference team.

Who do you think deserves the Vezina Trophy? Have your say in the comments.

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