Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award


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The Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award,[1] officially billed as the MBNA/Mastercard Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award,Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). is 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).[2] Only goaltenders who played 25 games or more in the season are 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.[3]

Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award

The award was first presented at the conclusion of the 1999–2000 season,[2] and is 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.[4] It is 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 receives a commemorative crystal trophy and is given US$25,000 to donate to a youth hockey or other educational program of their choice.[1]

As of 2011, the award has been presented on eleven occasions and won by nine different players. Marty Turco and Tim Thomas are the only goaltenders to have won the award twice. The Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins have each won the award three times, with Boston being the only team to win it three times consecutively. The award was not presented in 2005, as the entire 2004–05 season was canceled due to the lockout.[5]

Winners

 
Marty Turco was the only player to have won the award twice until 2011.
† Denotes player who is no longer active as of 2010
^ Player's team won Stanley Cup
Season Player Team Save % Ref.
1999–2000 Ed Belfour† Dallas Stars .919 [6]
2000–01 Marty Turco Dallas Stars .925 [7]
2001–02 Jose Theodore Montreal Canadiens .931 [8]
2002–03 Marty Turco (2nd win) Dallas Stars .932 [7]
2003–04 Dwayne Roloson Minnesota Wild .933 [9]
2004–05 — — — [A]
2005–06 Cristobal Huet Montreal Canadiens .929 [10]
2006–07 Niklas Backstrom Minnesota Wild .929 [11]
2007–08 Dan Ellis Nashville Predators .924 [12]
2008–09 Tim Thomas Boston Bruins .933 [13]
2009–10 Tuukka Rask Boston Bruins .931 [14]
2010–11 Tim Thomas^ (2nd win) Boston Bruins .938 [13]
Notes

See also

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. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Brehm, Mike (2003-04-02). "Answers: Decoding the stats page". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  4. ^ Fischler, Stan (2003). Who's Who in Hockey. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 0-7407-1904-1.
  5. ^ Caldwell, Dave (2005-07-14). "N.H.L. and Players Reach Agreement". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  6. ^ "Ed Belfour". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  7. ^ a b "Marty Turco". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  8. ^ "Jose Theodore". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  9. ^ "Dwayne Roloson". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  10. ^ "Cristobel Huet". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  11. ^ "Niklas Backstrom". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  12. ^ "Dan Ellis". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  13. ^ a b "Tim Thomas". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  14. ^ "Tuukka Rask". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.