ESPN.com's columnists weigh in with their picks for the Vezina Trophy, given to the league's top goaltender by vote of the general managers.

The trophy was presented to the National Hockey League in 1926-27 by Leo Dandurand, Louis Letourneau, and Joe Cattarinich, former owners of the Montreal Canadiens, in memory of Georges Vezina, outstanding goalkeeper of the Canadiens, who collapsed during an NHL game Nov. 28, 1925, and died of tuberculosis a few months later.

Until the 1981-82 season, the goalkeeper(s) of the team allowing the fewest number of goals during the regular season were awarded the Vezina Trophy.

Terry Frei, Denver Post

	Jose Theodore Goaltender Montreal Canadiens Profile
	2001-2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L T SV% GAA 62 26 23 10 .930 2.15

Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens: The Canadiens found their successor to Patrick Roy. Jose Theodore has been terrific for Montreal, and seems fully capable of taking the torch without dropping it when Roy and Dominik Hasek retire -- or maybe even sooner than that. If the same folks voted for the Vezina and Hart, a fair political compromise would be to have Theodore take the Vezina (which is voted on by general managers) and Roy win the Hart. Hasek has been great much of the season, but hasn't been quite as much of a difference-maker as Roy, or even Theodore. But, come to think of it, that political solution makes sense. And keep in mind that some general managers didn't like Roy to start with, and his spurning of the Canadian Olympic team didn't win him any new friends. So the choice here for this award is Theodore, both as a prediction and a way to spread out the hardware.

Mike Heika, Dallas Morning News
Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche: Each year the NHL vows to improve the offense, and each year the goaltending numbers get better. There must be something to this. If you want to look at statistics, Detroit's Dominik Hasek (41 wins), Philadelphia's Roman Cechmanek (2.06 GAA) and Montreal's Jose Theodore (.929 save percentage) all deserve recognition.

If you want to look at a goalie lifting his team up and carrying it, Sean Burke in Phoenix certainly fills the bill. However, the player who has done it all this season is Colorado's Patrick Roy. If anyone else had Roy's numbers -- a 1.93 GAA and a .926 save percentage -- we couldn't wait to honor him as the next Jacques Plante. But because Roy already has proven himself better than Plante and everyone else, we hold him to a different standard. The simple fact is the guy has been the best goalie in the NHL all season, he deserves this award.

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Boston Globe

	Patrick Roy Goaltender Colorado Avalanche Profile
	2001-2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L T SV% GAA 59 31 21 7 0.92478746 1.95

Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche: After winning the third Stanley Cup of his career last season, Roy has outdone himself in this one by leading a club that isn't as good as it was last year. The league's winningest goaltender reached the 30-victory mark for the seventh consecutive season, tying Tony Esposito and Martin Brodeur. He is feisty, volatile and eccentric at times, all of which fuel his passion for winning. His pride is legendary as is his temper, which was well in evidence on Saturday night when Phoenix's Krys Kolanos was awarded a penalty shot. Roy took the "over my dead body" approach, whacking his stick against the goalpost before throwing it Kolanos' way after the rookie scored. Then Roy turned his wrath in the direction of referee Dan Marouelli.

Detroit's Dominik Hasek joked that it was a Detroit tradition that whenever Roy fought the Red Wings' netminder -- as he did in 1997 when he took on Mike Vernon and the next year when he battled Chris Osgood -- Detroit wins the Cup. Roy has shown he isn't averse to a good dustup now and then. In the battle for supremacy in the West or even for the Vezina, he might be fighting Hasek the most. It would've been interesting to see how Philly's Roman Cechmanek would've fared had he stayed healthy and how Montreal's Jose Theodore would've fared if he'd had a team in front of him.

George Johnson, Calgary Herald
Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens: An intriguing showdown, this: the two guaranteed Hall of Famers, Patrick Roy of the Avs and Detroit's Dominik Hasek, vs. the 25-year-old upstart Jose Theodore of the Habs. Roy could conceivably lead all goaltenders in three of the four major categories -- goals-against-average, save percentage and shutouts. The passage of time has dulled none of his shine or compromised any of his combatativness.Hasek has already eclipsed the 40-win plateau but the omnipotence of the Red Wings season could work against him.

The Canadiens would be far, far up the track if it weren't for Theodore's exploits. He certainly doesn't have the benefit of a powerhouse lineup in front of him as do Roy or Hasek, is vying with Saint Patrick for the save percentage lead and ranks in the top five in goals-against-average. It's pretty safe to say that Roy's going to win this for a fourth time in voting by the league's general managers, but it's no crime to lean towards the underdog every once in a while. Be the dissenting voice. Go with the imaginative choice.

Rob Parent, Delaware County Times
Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche: Same old goalie guys, same old tight Vezina race. With the benefit of having the best team in the NHL playing in front of him, Dominik Hasek has produced a steady if unspectacular season. Over in Colorado, Patrick Roy hasn't been needed as much this season as the Avalanche have needed him in the past, but even though Roy always strays from his crease, he's never far from perfect. Just like the teams they represent, these two thirtysomething stars are known as 1-A and 1-B in the West. Their rivalry should extend to the Vezina voting, but won't totally dominate it.

Two other strong candidates are Phoenix's Sean Burke, who has won nearly as many games as Roy and has a better saves percentage than Hasek, and Nikolai Khabibulin, who has performed the miracle of winning 22 games for Tampa this season, 10 by shutout. But in the end, it should be Roy (30-21-7, 1.97, .924 heading into Monday). He's only 36, but has had a Chelios-like resurrection, and a season certainly worthy of a fourth Vezina Trophy.