The case can be made that Marc-Andre Fleury should have been, at the very least, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy over the past couple of seasons.
In Year 3 with the Vegas Golden Knights, Fleury is off to another strong start this season; posting an 11-6-2 record with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.
Such a start is getting Fleury some love in our latest NHL FanPulse voting.
Fleury received 26.55 percent of the votes, good for second place among those of you who believe Flower will win the Vezina this season. Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask leads the way with 33.76 percent, while Arizona Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper is not far behind Fleury at 22.94 percent.
St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington and Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck are also getting some recognition.
It makes sense for Rask to be leading the way here. He’s the goalie on the best team in the NHL while posting the best numbers (13-2-2, 2.04 GAA, .933 save percentage). Boston’s ability to split time between Rask and Jaroslav Halak has benefitted the Bruins. Whether or not that holds up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to where the Bruins can win the Stanley Cup this time around remains to be seen.
But this is a regular season award. Ask Andrei Vasilevskiy how his Vezina looks in his office.
It would just be great if Fleury could be a finalist this year. It’s a possibility, especially if he keeps up this pace and the Golden Knights surge back to win the Pacific Division. Right now, Rask is a clear-cut favorite given how dominant the Bruins are. Hell, they probably have the MVP right now in David Pastrnak. Everything is coming up Boston.
But if Fleury at least makes the final three, that will be something worth celebrating.
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