Jets’ Hellebuyck feeling right at home
In Winnipeg, as well as in his first house
WINNIPEG — Connor Hellebuyck excels with a goalie stick, but how he handles a hammer or paint brush remains to be seen.
The Winnipeg Jets goaltender had an eventful off-season, signing a six-year, US$37-million extension in July and buying his first house in Michigan.
“Home ownership is completely different than renting,” Hellebuyck said with a laugh after an informal skate this week with his teammates in Winnipeg.
“You’ve got to make sure that all the little things that go wrong with your home get fixed ASAP. It’s a new animal. I love it, though.”
The waterfront home on Orchard Lake was built in 1993 and he’d like to tackle some improvement projects.
“The plan is to renovate the house and make it look good, but I’ve got some hockey to worry about first,” the 25-year-old Commerce, Mich., native said.
What Hellebuyck won’t have to worry about is whether he’s Winnipeg’s No. 1 goaltender, unlike the start of last season.
The team had signed Steve Mason and it was believed he’d get the bulk of time in net, but the veteran struggled and Hellebuyck won the job and ran with it to unexpected heights.
He played in the National Hockey League all-star game and finished with a 44-11-9 record, .924 save percentage and a
2.36 goals-against average in 67 games (64 starts).
It earned him a nod as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy awarded to the NHL’s top goalie, an honour that went to Nashville’s Pekka Rinne.
Hellebuyck had a franchise record win total and recorded the most victories by an Americanborn goalie last season.
His play was a key reason the Jets put up a franchise-best 114 points (52-20-10), second in the league.
The team climbed through the playoffs, reaching the Western Conference final before losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
“I think it was a good steppingstone,” Hellebuyck said.
“It just shows that we’re building the right way and we need to continue working because it’s not finished yet.”
He had been a restricted free agent coming off a one-year deal that paid him $2.25 million.
The new contract has an annual average salary of $6.16 million and takes him through the 2023-24 season.
While Hellebuyck seems to be settled professionally and personally, he’s not taking the team’s commitment to him for granted.
“I think I need to fight every day to hold on to my job,” said Winnipeg’s fifth-round pick (130th overall) from the
2012 NHL draft.