If you’re going to the game Friday night, hopefully you get a chance to take a picture with some of that silverware that Connor Hellebuyck won last season.
The Jennings and Vezina trophies will be in the house, reflecting the Winnipeg Jets goaltender’s great work last season. And you can’t help but smile to know that big number 37 will be in the Jets’ net for the next seven seasons — for a reasonable cap hit of $8.5 million.
Hellebuyck wanted to be in Winnipeg — wanted to be a Jet — and quite frankly, that makes building a contender in the Central just a little bit easier. The negotiation last summer wasn’t very public, there was no rancour, no rumours, no bitterness. Just the way both sides wanted it.
You might suggest it has helped this group create organizational stability beyond the goaltender. There is a real calming influence knowing that Hellebuyck — and Mark Schiefele, for that matter — have decided they want to play in Winnipeg long-term, maybe even for the duration of their careers. It’s a great message for teammates, the franchise and the city.
And while the sample size is small, it’s hard not to think Hellebuyck and Schiefele have been the team’s best players out of the gate.
Just remember goaltenders and their contracts are the topic du jour in the NHL right now. Jeremy Swayman’s contract in Boston (eight years at $8.25 million) got Linus Ullmark a similar salary in Ottawa, and Jake Oettinger the exact same contract in Dallas. Swayman’s negotiation was ugly, as is the current haggling between the New York Rangers and Igor Shesterkin.
Hellebucyk is a Jet. End of story. The next step for him is to perform at that Vezina level in the post-season, like he did in 2018 — and for the regular-season silverware to be replaced by that other big trophy, the Stanley Cup.
