Going into the NHL Award season, it was pretty clear cut on one candidate that was definitely going to be nominated for the Vezina Trophy for his performance during the 2010-11 season.

With that said, picking the other two candidates was going to be a bit tougher and based on the nominations that were announced on Friday, April 22, you can see why.

The NHL announced that Tim Thomas (no brainer) of the Boston Bruins, Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks and Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators were the Vezina nominees. While one cannot dispute the numbers these netminders put up, it is easy to say that some netminders were snubbed of a nomination, namely Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.

Lundqvist is clearly the Rangers’ franchise player and this season, he lived up to that billing. Lundqvist started 67 games for the Blueshirts and compiled a 36-27-5 record to go along with 11 shutouts, a 2.28 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. He was one of the main reasons that the Rangers’ clinched a playoff spot at the end of the season and was also the team’s MVP.

Price’s story is even bigger than Lundqvist’s. Going into the season, the hockey media and fans alike questioned why the Montreal Canadiens’ traded Jarsolav Halak and instead chose to go with Price, who was inconsistent at best. This season, Price proved everyone wrong by starting 70 games and putting up a record of 38—28-6 with 8 shutouts, a 2.35 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.

Looking at both Lundqvist’s and Price’s numbers, it is easy to see why either one of them could have been nominated for the Vezina Trophy this season. They both played a lot of games (more than Thomas and Luongo) and put up tremendous performances to help their respective clubs get into the playoffs.

What are your thoughts?

*photo by Lundqvist