Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award
The Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award,[1] officially billed as the MBNA/MasterCard Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award,[2] was an award in ice hockey given annually to the goaltender who finished the regular season with the best save percentage in the National Hockey League (NHL).[3] Only goaltenders who played 25 games or more in the season were eligible for the award.[1] A goaltender's save percentage represents the percentage of shots on goal that he stops, and is calculated by dividing the number of saves by the total number of shots on goal.[4]
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award | |
---|---|
Sport | Ice hockey |
Given for | goaltender who has played a minimum of 25 games and finished the season with the best save percentage in the National Hockey League. |
History | |
First award | 1999–2000 NHL season |
Final award | 2006–07 NHL season |
The award was first presented at the conclusion of the 1999–2000 season,[3] and was named in honor of former Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals goaltender Roger Crozier, a Calder and Conn Smythe Trophy winner who played in the NHL from 1964 to 1977.[5] It was presented by the MBNA corporation in memory of Crozier, who worked for the MBNA America Bank after retiring as a player, and died on January 11, 1996.[1] The winner of the trophy received a commemorative crystal trophy and was given US$25,000 to donate to a youth hockey or other educational program of their choice.[1]
By 2007, when it ceased being presented, the award had been handed to six different players on seven occasions. Marty Turco is the only goaltender to have won the award twice. Three Dallas Stars goalies have won the award, while two each have represented the Montreal Canadiens and the Minnesota Wild. Only seven awards were ever made. The award was not presented in 2005, as the entire 2004–05 season was canceled due to the lockout.[6]
Winners
Denotes players who are still active in the NHL | |
† | Denotes player who was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame |
Season | Player | Team | Save % | Win # | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999–2000 | Ed Belfour† | Dallas Stars | .919 | 1 | [7] |
2000–01 | Marty Turco | Dallas Stars | .925 | 1 | [8] |
2001–02 | Jose Theodore | Montreal Canadiens | .931 | 1 | [9] |
2002–03 | Marty Turco | Dallas Stars | .932 | 2 | [8] |
2003–04 | Dwayne Roloson | Minnesota Wild | .933 | 1 | [10] |
2004–05 | Not awarded due to NHL lockout | ||||
2005–06 | Cristobal Huet | Montreal Canadiens | .929 | 1 | [11] |
2006–07 | Niklas Backstrom | Minnesota Wild | .929 | 1 | [12] |
Save-percentage leaders (1982–1999)
Before 2000, there was no award for leading the league in save percentage. The NHL started counting the statistic in 1982,[13] and this lists all the leaders from the inception of the statistic to the inception of the award.[14]
* Season shortened by the 1994–95 NHL lockout
Season | Player | Team | Save % | Win # |
---|---|---|---|---|
1982–83 | Roland Melanson | New York Islanders | .910 | 1 |
1983–84 | Roland Melanson | New York Islanders | .903 | 2 |
1984–85 | Warren Skorodenski | Chicago Black Hawks | .903 | 1 |
1985–86 | Bob Froese | Philadelphia Flyers | .909 | 1 |
1986–87 | Ron Hextall | Philadelphia Flyers | .902 | 1 |
1987–88 | Patrick Roy | Montreal Canadiens | .900 | 1 |
1988–89 | Patrick Roy | Montreal Canadiens | .908 | 2 |
1989–90 | Patrick Roy | Montreal Canadiens | .912 | 3 |
1990–91 | Ed Belfour | Chicago Blackhawks | .910 | 1 |
1991–92 | Patrick Roy | Montreal Canadiens | .914 | 4 |
1992–93 | Curtis Joseph | St. Louis Blues | .911 | 1 |
1993–94 | Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | .930 | 1 |
1994–95* | Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | .930 | 2 |
1995–96 | Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | .920 | 3 |
1996–97 | Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | .930 | 4 |
1997–98 | Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | .932 | 5 |
1998–99 | Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | .937 | 6 |
Save-percentage leaders (2007–present)
* Season shortened by the 2012–13 NHL lockout Bold denotes highest season save percentage on record
Season | Player | Team | Save % | Win # |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007–08 | Dan Ellis | Nashville Predators | .924 | 1 |
2008–09 | Tim Thomas | Boston Bruins | .933 | 1 |
2009–10 | Tuukka Rask | Boston Bruins | .931 | 1 |
2010–11 | Tim Thomas | Boston Bruins | .938 | 2 |
2011–12 | Brian Elliott | St. Louis Blues | .940 | 1 |
2012–13* | Craig Anderson1 | Ottawa Senators | .941 | 1 |
2013–14 | Josh Harding | Minnesota Wild | .933 | 1 |
2014–15 | Carey Price | Montreal Canadiens | .933 | 1 |
2015–16 | Brian Elliott | St. Louis Blues | .930 | 2 |
2016–17 | Sergei Bobrovsky | Columbus Blue Jackets | .932 | 1 |
2017–18 | Carter Hutton | St. Louis Blues | .931 | 1 |
2018–19 | Ben Bishop | Dallas Stars | .934 | 1 |
2019–20 | Anton Khudobin | Dallas Stars | .930 | 1 |
See also
Notes
^ Craig Anderson only played in 24 games in the 2012–13 season, however due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout the minimum game restriction was reduced from 25 games to 14.
References
- "Canadiens' Cristobal Huet to receive MBNA Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award". National Hockey League. 2006-09-20. Archived from the original on 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- Muir, Allan (2006-05-31). "In a class of his own". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- Heika, Mike (2000-03-19). "Around the NHL – Tight-with-a-buck Bruins soured company man Bourque". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- Brehm, Mike (2003-04-02). "Answers: Decoding the stats page". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley (2003). Who's Who in Hockey. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 0-7407-1904-1.
- Caldwell, Dave (2005-07-14). "N.H.L. and Players Reach Agreement". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- "Ed Belfour". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- "Marty Turco". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- "Jose Theodore". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-09-06. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- "Dwayne Roloson". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- "Cristobel Huet". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- "Niklas Bäckström". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-10-09. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- Klein, Jeff Z.; Serviss, Lew (2008-04-13). "Leetch Weighs Changes to Defenseman's Game". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- "NHL & WHA Yearly Leaders and Records for Save Percentage". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.