{"id":555050,"date":"2026-04-18T06:19:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T06:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555050\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T06:19:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T06:19:47","slug":"making-the-case-for-joel-hofer-to-get-vezina-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555050\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the case for Joel Hofer to get Vezina votes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The St. Louis Blues have a lot of unanswered questions<\/a> heading into next season, which will be their first full season in this retooling phase. With a plethora of young talent making their way up from Springfield to the NHL, there is a lot to be excited about. <\/p>\n

One more player to be very excited about, should hopefully get a few Vezina Trophy votes for his performance in 2025-26. You would think it would be Jordan Binnington, but instead, it is future starter, Joel Hofer. <\/p>\n

Let’s talk about why he deserves some recognition for these upcoming awards. <\/p>\n

Hofer was great on a bad team<\/p>\n

Let’s be perfectly clear, Hofer was great in between the pipes in 2025-26. With minimal defense and a seriously flawed offense, he still finished the season with a record of 24-13-5 in 43 starts. No. 30 had a save percentage of .909 and a goals against average of 2.64. <\/p>\n

Those are some respectable numbers, but the eye test confirmed that Hofer is a fantastic goaltender to carry the torch from Binnington. As the Blues are entering a new era of their legendary history, it is time to leave No. 50 behind and focus on the next best thing. <\/p>\n

That should be able to garner a few votes right there. <\/p>\n

A close second in a major stat<\/p>\n

What is really going to seal the deal for Hofer is his placement in one particular stat. Behind the New York Islanders’ goaltender Ilya Sorokin<\/a>, who is going to give Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy a run for his money in this Vezina race, Hofer had six shutouts this season. <\/p>\n

Yes, six shutouts. <\/p>\n

If you have problems scoring goals or defending them, just handle it yourself with a shutout victory. That must have been what Hofer was thinking this season, as he tripled his career shutout tally in just 2025-26. <\/p>\n

Hofer’s efforts in 2025-26 should be celebrated. He did not do enough to win the iconic trophy for best goaltender in the NHL, but he definitely earned some of the votes coming his way. <\/p>\n

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