William M. Jennings Trophy

William M. Jennings Trophy

Sport	Ice hockey
Awarded for	National Hockey League goaltender(s) that have played for the team that allows the fewest goals scored against it.
History
First award	1981–82 NHL season
Most recent	Connor Hellebuyck Winnipeg Jets

The William M. Jennings Trophy is an annual National Hockey League (NHL) award given to "the goaltender(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it ... based on regular-season play." ^[1] From 1946 until 1981, the Vezina Trophy had been awarded under that definition, but it was later changed and replaced by the Jennings Trophy. It is named in honor of William M. Jennings, the longtime governor and president of the New York Rangers. Since its beginnings in 1982, it has been awarded at the end of 40 seasons to 44 different players; mostly in tandems of two goaltenders.

The most recent winner is Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets had a league-low 199 team goals-against in the 2023–24 season.

History

From 1946 until the 1980–81 season, the Vezina Trophy was awarded to the goaltender(s) of the NHL team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season. ^[2] However, it was recognized that this system often meant the trophy went to the goaltender of the better team rather than the individual and was changed to offer the trophy to the most outstanding goaltender, as voted by the NHL general managers. The William M. Jennings Trophy was created as a replacement and is awarded to the starting goaltender(s) playing for the team with the fewest goals against. ^[3]

The Jennings Trophy was donated by the NHL's board of governors and first presented at the conclusion of the 1981–82 season. It is named in honor of the late William M. Jennings, who was a longtime governor and president of the New York Rangers and a builder of ice hockey in the United States. ^[1] Normally the minimum number of games a goaltender must play to be eligible for the trophy is 25, but for the lockout shortened 1994–95 season, the required minimum was fourteen games. ^[4]

Ten players have won both the Jennings and Vezina Trophy for the same season: Patrick Roy (1988–89 and 1991–92), Ed Belfour (1990–91 and 1992–93), Dominik Hasek (1993–94 and 2000–01), Martin Brodeur (2002–03, 2003–04), Miikka Kiprusoff (2005–06), Tim Thomas (2008–09), Carey Price (2014–15), Marc-Andre Fleury (2020–21), Linus Ullmark (2022–23), and Connor Hellebuyck (2023–24). ^[2] Roy and Brodeur have won the trophy five times each, the most of any goaltenders. Belfour is third, having won four times. The Montreal Canadiens have the most wins, with six, followed by the New Jersey Devils and the Chicago Blackhawks with five each, the Boston Bruins with four, and the Buffalo Sabres and with three.

Winners

Patrick Roy, five-time winner

Dominik Hasek, three-time winner

Martin Brodeur, five-time winner

Chris Osgood, two-time winner

Jaroslav Halak, two-time winner

Robin Lehner, two-time winner

  Player is still active in the NHL

  Player's team won the Stanley Cup

  Player elected to Hockey Hall of Fame

  Player not yet eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame

Bold Player with the fewest goals ever scored against in a Jennings' winning season. ^[a]

William M. Jennings Trophy winners

Season	Winner	Team	Goals allowed	Win #	Team Win #
1981–82	Rick Wamsley	Montreal Canadiens	223	1	1
	Denis Herron			1
1982–83	Billy Smith	New York Islanders	226	1	1
	Roland Melanson			1
1983–84	Al Jensen	Washington Capitals	226	1	1
	Pat Riggin			1
1984–85	Tom Barrasso	Buffalo Sabres	237	1	1
	Bob Sauve			1
1985–86	Bob Froese	Philadelphia Flyers	241	1	1
	Darren Jensen			1
1986–87	Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	241	1	2
	Brian Hayward			1
1987–88	Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	238	2	3
	Brian Hayward			2
1988–89	Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	218	3	4
	Brian Hayward			3
1989–90	Andy Moog	Boston Bruins	232	1	1
	Rejean Lemelin			1
1990–91	Ed Belfour	Chicago Blackhawks	211	1	1
1991–92	Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	207	4	5
1992–93	Ed Belfour	Chicago Blackhawks	239	2	2
1993–94	Dominik Hasek	Buffalo Sabres	218	1	2
	Grant Fuhr			1
1994–95 [b]	Ed Belfour	Chicago Blackhawks	115	3	3
1995–96	Chris Osgood	Detroit Red Wings	181	1	1
	Mike Vernon			1
1996–97	Martin Brodeur	New Jersey Devils	182	1	1
	Mike Dunham			1
1997–98	Martin Brodeur	New Jersey Devils	166	2	2
1998–99	Ed Belfour	Dallas Stars	168	4	1
	Roman Turek			1
1999–2000	Roman Turek	St. Louis Blues	165	2	1
2000–01	Dominik Hasek	Buffalo Sabres	184	2	3
2001–02	Patrick Roy	Colorado Avalanche	169	5	1
2002–03 [c]	Martin Brodeur	New Jersey Devils	166	3	3
	Roman Cechmanek	Philadelphia Flyers	166	1	2
	Robert Esche			1
2003–04	Martin Brodeur	New Jersey Devils	164	4	4
2004–05 [d]	—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Miikka Kiprusoff	Calgary Flames	200	1	1
2006–07	Niklas Backstrom	Minnesota Wild	191	1	1
	Manny Fernandez			1
2007–08	Dominik Hasek	Detroit Red Wings	184	3	2
	Chris Osgood			2
2008–09	Tim Thomas	Boston Bruins	196	1	2
	Manny Fernandez			2
2009–10	Martin Brodeur	New Jersey Devils	191	5	5
2010–11	Roberto Luongo	Vancouver Canucks	185	1	1
	Cory Schneider			1
2011–12	Brian Elliott	St. Louis Blues	165	1	2
	Jaroslav Halak			1
2012–13 [e]	Corey Crawford	Chicago Blackhawks	102	1	4
	Ray Emery			1
2013–14	Jonathan Quick	Los Angeles Kings	174	1	1
2014–15 [f]	Corey Crawford	Chicago Blackhawks	189	2	5
	Carey Price	Montreal Canadiens		1	6
2015–16	Frederik Andersen	Anaheim Ducks	192	1	1
	John Gibson			1
2016–17	Braden Holtby	Washington Capitals	182	1	2
2017–18	Jonathan Quick	Los Angeles Kings	203	2	2
2018–19	Thomas Greiss	New York Islanders	191	1	2
	Robin Lehner			1
2019–20 [g]	Tuukka Rask	Boston Bruins	174	1	3
	Jaroslav Halak			2
2020–21 [h]	Marc-Andre Fleury	Vegas Golden Knights	124	1	1
	Robin Lehner			2
2021–22	Frederik Andersen	Carolina Hurricanes	202	2	1
	Antti Raanta			1
2022–23	Linus Ullmark	Boston Bruins	177	1	4
	Jeremy Swayman			1
2023–24	Connor Hellebuyck	Winnipeg Jets	199	1	1

See also

• List of National Hockey League awards
• List of NHL statistical leaders

Notes

1. Corey Crawford and Ray Emery hold the record for fewest goals scored against in a season, however this was in a lockout shortened season. Martin Brodeur has the fewest goals scored against in a full-length season.
2. Season shortened by the 1994–95 NHL lockout
3. For the 2002–03 season, there was a tie between Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils and Robert Esche and Roman Cechmanek of the Philadelphia Flyers. This is the first time that there has been a tie between players from different teams.
4. Not awarded due to the lockout
5. Season shortened by the 2012–13 NHL lockout
6. For the 2014–15 season, there was a tie between Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens and Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks. This is the second time that there has been a tie between players from different teams.
7. Season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic
8. Season delayed and shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic

References

General

• "William M. Jennings Trophy history". National Hockey League . Retrieved September 15, 2007.
• "William M. Jennings Trophy history". Legends of Hockey. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2007.
• "Final Standings". National Hockey League . Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2007.

Specific

1. "William M. Jennings Trophy history". National Hockey League . Retrieved September 17, 2007.
2. "Vezina Trophy history". National Hockey League . Retrieved September 17, 2007.
3. "Vezina Trophy history". Legends Of Hockey. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
4. "William H. Jennings Trophy winners". ESPN . 15 November 2006. Retrieved September 17, 2007.