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| 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 |
| First winner | Denis Herron andRick Wamsley |
| Most wins | Martin Brodeur andPatrick Roy (5) |
| Most recent | Connor Hellebuyck Winnipeg Jets |
TheWilliam M. Jennings Trophy is an annualNational Hockey League (NHL) award given to "thegoaltender(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it ... based on regular-season play."[1] Despite the flawed wording from the NHL definition, it means the goaltender with the lowest goals against average (per game), not the goaltender with the true lowest number of goals scored against them. From 1946 until 1981, theVezina Trophy had been awarded under that definition, but it was later changed and replaced by the Jennings Trophy. It is named in honor ofWilliam M. Jennings, the longtime governor and president of theNew 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 isConnor Hellebuyck of theWinnipeg Jets. The Jets had a league-low 191 team goals-against in the2024–25 season.
From 1946 until the1980–81 season, theVezina Trophy was awarded to the goaltender(s) of the NHL team allowing the fewest goals during theregular 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 theNHL 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 the1981–82 season. It is named in honor of the lateWilliam M. Jennings, who was a longtime governor and president of theNew York Rangers and a builder ofice 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 shortened1994–95 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 and1991–92),Ed Belfour (1990–91 and1992–93),Dominik Hasek (1993–94 and2000–01),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), andConnor Hellebuyck (2023–24 and2024–25).[2] Roy and Brodeur have won the trophy five times each, the most of any goaltenders. Belfour is third, having won four times. TheMontreal Canadiens have the most wins, with six, followed by theNew Jersey Devils and theChicago Blackhawks with five each, theBoston Bruins with four, and theBuffalo Sabres with three.
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Bold Player with the fewest goals ever scored against in a Jennings' winning season.[a]
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