Because Sergei BOBROVSKY won the Vezina Trophy for the 2013 Season! As a Blue Jackets fan, and a huge fan of number 72, I was absolutely THRILLED when I heard the news. How thrilled? Let’s just say I pulled to the side of the highway on my way back to Columbus, got out of my car, and stared dancing and screaming with joy. That is how thrilled I was! (True Story)

Instead of this being a post of me straight-up fangirling over Bobbo, I will provide my opinion and analysis of the selection. First, we need to take a look at all three Vezina Finalists: Sharks’ Antti Niemi, Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, and Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky.

Niemi had what I like to call a “quietly stellar” season. His performances were not full of highlight reel saves, despite his flashy and unique style.

Niemi’s stats alone warranted his name on the list of the top three in the league. Nemo finished the regular season with a 2.16 GAA, .924 Sv%, and 4 shutouts in 43 games. His numbers placed him 7^th in GAA among goaltenders with at least 25 games played, and 6^th in Sv% by the same metrics. Statistically speaking, however, Niemi was the weakest of the three candidates. Personally speaking, I do not use statistics as the foundation for accolades, though they do help paint a picture of a goaltender’s skill. Niemi received his Vezina nod due to his ability to steal games, play consistently, and shoulder a great deal of the game load for the Sharks, helping them secure a playoff spot yet again.

King Henrik is known for his athletic ability and unbelievable saves. Better yet, he is known for keeping the perennially offensively stagnant Rangers in most games.

He is flashy, he is exciting, and sometimes irritating. Lundqvist’s stats are just a hair ahead of Niemi, as he posted a 2.05 GAA and .926 Sv% in the regular season. Among goaltenders who played a minimum of 25 games, Lundqvist finished 4^th in both GAA and Sv%. In my opinion, Henrik’s performance this regular season was typical for the 2011-2012 Vezina winner: solid, consistent-ish, and markedly better than a majority of his team. While I am unaware of the final tally of votes for the Vezina, I have a feeling it was a tight race between Lundqvist and Bobrovsky.

Before I discuss Bobrovsky, I should take a moment to explain why Craig Anderson, an early favorite for the award of NHL’s top netminder, was not a finalist. Simply put, Anderson did not play enough games.

In a 48 game season, Anderson only managed to play in 24 games, largely due to injury. It is almost unheard of for a goaltender to receive a Vezina nod after playing only about 50% of the season. Look at 2011-2012 Jennings Trophy winners Halak and Elliott; the two goaltenders 46 and 38 games respectively in an 82 game season. Their stats and performances would have likely earned them a nod for the Vezina last year had they played 55+ games. Basically, half a season, no matter how short that season may be, is not enough of a body of work for a goaltender to be in the running for the Vezina.

Now to Bobrovsky. The CBJ tender posted an impressive 2.00 GAA and .932 Sv% and 4 shutouts in 38 games (the first 4 shutouts of his NHL career). Taking a look at the stats for goaltenders who played a minimum of 25 games this season, Bobrovsky tops the list in Sv%, and is beaten only by Corey Crawford on the GAA leader board. Many may say that Bobrovsky (21-11-6) single-handedly helped CBJ battle beyond the final buzzer of the season to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2008-2009.

While this is clearly an arguable statement, I do believe that Bobrovsky’s performances and statistics are not indicative of a 9^th place team’s goaltender. Like NYR, the Blue Jackets had more than their fair share of scoring woes this season. Bobrovsky bailed them out game after game, and stole a few wins and a few OT points for the Jackets.

Aside from being the number one goaltender for a team that failed to make the post-season (an exceptionally rare identifier), Bobrovsky is also the first Russian-born winner of the Vezina Trophy.

Bobrovsky’s contract talks have stagnated with the Blue Jackets. A Vezina award should put more pressure on the Jackets to re-sign him, and it is a key tool for his agent in negotiations. Bobrovsky is a Restricted Free Agent.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, should they re-sign Bobrovsky, are heading in a positive direction. John Davidson and Jarmo Kekäläinen are working their magic and building an impressive core of players who seem to buy into systems and philosophies of head coach Todd Richards. Bobrovsky is a cog in the CBJ machine, and an important one at that. I have always been an advocate of building a team from the net out, and a Vezina winner between the pipes for CBJ will help the team develop into not only a playoff contender, but perhaps even Stanley Cup Champions.

Number 72 on the roster, number 1 in your hearts!

And so, I am officially now a Brodeur fan first and a Sens fan second. Considering the fact that Brodeur will be retiring soon, I may as well hop on the Sens bandwagon now. Besides, the Sens have Erik Karlsson. THAT I can get behind. So, seeing as how this season is about as doomed as a squirrel trying to make its way across ten lanes of highway traffic, how about we tell a little story of the goings on in the nation’s capital this millennium? I’ll go into detail about our current situation, but first let’s recap how we got here:

2000-2004: The “I think I just choked on a Maple Leaf” era

For those of you who don’t know, the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have a very friendly history. This fact reached its apex during this time. Unfortunately, well… it didn’t go so well for Ottawa (which might be part of the frustration that created this game). The era can be summed up as follows: 

Another big Pro: Alfredsson’s hair!

Coaches: Jacques Martin

Starting Goalies: Tom Barasso, Patrick Lalime

2004-2007: The “we were so close… I need a drink” era

How do you accurately describe this period in time in Sens history? A number of songs could do it. Try Linkin Park’s In The End, for instance. The climax, of course, saw the Sens fall to Brian Burke’s Anaheim Ducks. The Sens coach at the time was Bryan Murray, a painful irony, considering that, even though the majority of the credit goes to Burke for piecing together his championship team, Murray was the GM that drafted the likes of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf for the Ducks in 2003. This probably explains why Murray was so dejected in his interview afterwards.

 

Another big Pro: Antoine Vermette

 Coach: Bryan Murray

Starting Goalies: Dominik Hasek, Ray Emery

2007-2011: The “what the @#$% is this crap?” era

Bryan Murray was a great coach who had chemistry with the team in front of him. So, naturally, we told him to be our General Manager and to hire someone else to be the coach. Well, at least the first three choices he made to find his replacement wouldn’t be a failure, right?… Right?… Guys? Oh, and then there was Dany Heatley… 

Another big Pro: Erik Karlsson

Starting Goalies: Ray Emery, Martin Gerber, Pascal Leclaire, Brian Elliot

Head Coaches: John Paddock, Bryan Murray, Craig Hartsburg, Cory Clouston

2011-present: The “where did these guys come from?” era

The 2010-2011 season was going downhill fast. Leclaire was a bust. Kovalev a bust. Gonchar seemed to be wavering under the increased pressure; Cory Clouston was perceived to have driven Dany Heatley out of town; and now it was rumoured that Jason Spezza wanted out.

The fans, needless to say, were upset and were calling for Bryan Murray’s head. That’s when the fire sale began. Gone were Kovalev, Fisher, Kelly, and Elliot. In was a goalie by the name of Craig Anderson and a bevy of new draft picks. The freed NHL roster spaces led the team to call up the standouts from our AHL squad down in Binghamton. The result? The team closed out the season going 12-7-1 with Anderson posting an 11-5-1 record, along with a .939 SVP and a 2.05 GAA with his new team. In comparison, Elliot (who we traded for Anderson) went to Colorado and posted a 2-8-1 record with a .891 SVP and a 3.83 GAA. When the NHL season concluded, we sent the kids back down to the AHL, where they wound up winning the championship. It provided the Sens Army with what seemed like a false sense of hope. Hey, maybe these kids could keep this up for a whole season, maybe this goalie is the real deal, maybe we will actually make the playoffs next year.

The off season saw us go out and hire a new coach, Paul Maclean, and for this hockey fan, it was respect at first sight. I mean, come on, this mustache commands respect. It says “I am a bad-ass, now let’s play some hockey”. The season saw a rocky start with the tam opening 1-5-0. A streak of 6 wins brought us to 7-5-0, but the roller coaster continued, seeing the team reach December 14 with a mediocre 14-14-4 record. Three days later, we traded for Kyle Turris, giving the team a solid second line center. That is when the team started to win, and we never looked back, finishing 41-31-10 and clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Anderson? Oh, he went 33-22-6 with a .914 SVP and a 2.84 GAA. Refreshingly solid numbers. Paul Maclean? He was nominated for the Jack Adams Award (coach of the year). The boys made us proud in the playoffs too, taking the conference’s number one seed New York Rangers to a nail-biting seventh game. Things were looking up. 

Another big Pro: We signed Karlsson for 7 years- Bryan Murray’s gift to admirers of the male gender everywhere.

Goalies: Craig Anderson, Ben “oh @#$% Anderson damn near cut his finger off with a knife, go out and get someone quick” Bishop

Head Coaches: Cory Clouston, Paul Maclean

                                                                                  

The New-And-Improved Lockout (2012-2013 Style)

There really are more questions than answers for the current Ottawa Senators. A fan base that has always had their great expectations fail to be matched is skeptical about our team’s new-found success. Were the last year and a quarter a fluke? Will the likes of Mika Zibanejad, Jakob Silfverberg, and Mark Stone develop in time to justify the departures of guys like Nick Foligno and Bobby Butler? Only time will tell. One positive that Sens fans should hang on to: a year in the minors brought Jason Spezza into his superstar form during the 2004-2005 lockout. Hopefully our present day young guns may see the same sort of development.