Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award
SportIce hockey
Awarded forgoaltender who has played a minimum of 25 games and finished the season with the best save percentage in the National Hockey League.
History
First award1999–2000 NHL season
Final award2006–07 NHL season

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]

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

Marty Turco is the only player to have won the award twice.
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 Season cancelled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout
2005–06 Cristobal Huet Montreal Canadiens .929 1 [11]
2006–07 Niklas Backstrom Minnesota Wild .929 1 [12]

† - Belfour was a prior save percentage leader in the 1990-91 season, before the Crozier Award was first presented.

Save-percentage leaders (1956–1999)

Before 2000, there was no award for leading the league in save percentage. The NHL started counting the statistic in 1982,[13] while records have been compiled for save percentage back into the mid-1950s.[14]

Bold denotes highest season save percentage on record

* Season shortened by the 1994–95 NHL lockout

Season Player Team Save % Win #
1955–56 Jacques Plante Montreal Canadiens .930 1
1956–57 Glenn Hall Detroit Red Wings .928 1
1957–58 Gump Worsley New York Rangers .927 1
1958–59 Jacques Plante Montreal Canadiens .925 2
1959–60 Johnny Bower Toronto Maple Leafs .919 1
1960–61 Johnny Bower Toronto Maple Leafs .923 2
1961–62 Jacques Plante Montreal Canadiens .923 3
1962–63 Glenn Hall Chicago Black Hawks .918 2
1963–64 Johnny Bower Toronto Maple Leafs .932 3
1964–65 Johnny Bower Toronto Maple Leafs .924 4
1965–66 Johnny Bower Toronto Maple Leafs .930 5
1966–67 Johnny Bower Toronto Maple Leafs .925 6
1967–68 Bruce Gamble Toronto Maple Leafs .934 1
1968–69 Jacques Plante St. Louis Blues .940 4
1969–70 Tony Esposito Chicago Black Hawks .932 1
1970–71 Jacques Plante Toronto Maple Leafs .944 5
1971–72 Tony Esposito Chicago Black Hawks .934 2
1972–73 Ken Dryden Montreal Canadiens .926 1
1973–74 Bernie Parent Philadelphia Flyers .932 1
1974–75 Rogie Vachon Los Angeles Kings .927 1
1975–76 Glenn Resch New York Islanders .914 1
1976–77 Ken Dryden Montreal Canadiens .920 2
1977–78 Ken Dryden Montreal Canadiens .922 3
1978–79 Glenn Resch New York Islanders .914 2
1979–80 Denis Herron Montreal Canadiens .907 1
1980–81 Rick St. Croix Philadelphia Flyers .913 1
1981–82 Denis Herron Montreal Canadiens .910 2
1982–83 Roland Melanson New York Islanders .909 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
† Season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic

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
2020–21† Alex Nedeljkovic2 Carolina Hurricanes .932 1
2021–22 Igor Shesterkin New York Rangers .935 1
2022–23 Linus Ullmark Boston Bruins .938 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.
^ Alex Nedeljkovic only played in 23 games in the 2020–21 season, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic the minimum game restriction was reduced from 25 games to 17.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "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.
  2. ^ Muir, Allan (2006-05-31). "In a class of his own". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  3. ^ a b Heika, Mike (2000-03-19). "Around the NHL – Tight-with-a-buck Bruins soured company man Bourque". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  4. ^ Brehm, Mike (2003-04-02). "Answers: Decoding the stats page". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  5. ^ Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley (2003). Who's Who in Hockey. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 0-7407-1904-1.
  6. ^ Caldwell, Dave (2005-07-14). "N.H.L. and Players Reach Agreement". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  7. ^ "Ed Belfour". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  8. ^ a b "Marty Turco". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  9. ^ "Jose Theodore". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-09-06. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  10. ^ "Dwayne Roloson". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  11. ^ "Cristobel Huet". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  12. ^ "Niklas Bäckström". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2010-10-09. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  13. ^ Klein, Jeff Z.; Serviss, Lew (2008-04-13). "Leetch Weighs Changes to Defenseman's Game". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  14. ^ "NHL & WHA Yearly Leaders and Records for Save Percentage". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 22, 2022.

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