Washington Capitals Braden Holtby wins Vezina Trophy, his first, awarded to the “goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position,” as selected by NHL General Managers.

Prior to 1981-82, the Vezina was awarded to the goaltender(s) whose team allowed the fewest goals during the regular season, the current criterion for the William Jennings Trophy. Holtby was a near-unanimous selection, garnering 26 first-place votes from the 30 cast by NHL General Managers. His 140 voting points placed him ahead of Tampa Bay’s Ben Bishop (51) and Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick (36).

Holtby equaled a single-season NHL record with 48 wins, tying the mark set by New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur in 2006-07, to backstop the Capitals to the 2015-16 Presidents’ Trophy as the League’s top regular-season club. Holtby, who tied a franchise record with 41 victories in 2014-15, became the seventh goaltender in NHL history to record consecutive 40- win seasons – and the first to do since San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov from 2007-09 (3x).

The first-time Vezina finalist ranked fifth in the NHL in goals-against average (2.20), sixth in saves (1,661) and eighth in save percentage (.922). Holtby is the third Capitals goaltender to win the Vezina Trophy, joining Jim Carey (1996) and Olaf Kolzig (2000).