Winnipeg Jets make long term investment in Connor Hellebuyck

Connor Hellebuyck had a breakout season last year, and the Winnipeg Jets are betting it’s just the start of a long run as one of the NHL’s best goalies.

Outside of losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals, 2017-18 will go down as a successful season for the Winnipeg Jets. The future is bright, and to that end they have signed goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to a six-year, $37 million contract.

Over 67 regular season games last year (64 starts), Hellebuyck had a league-high and franchise record 44 wins while also setting single-season franchise records for shutouts (six) and save percentage (.924) on his way to being a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. He maintained his numbers in 17 playoff games, with a .922 save percentage and a goals-against average (2.36) that matched his regular season mark.

Hellebuyck’s deal will have an average annual value of $6.167 million, sixth-highest among NHL goaltenders in AAV, and it will keep him in Winnipeg through the 2023-24 season. At 25 years old, he will be 31 when the deal expires.

Hellebuyck started 53 games for the Jets in 2016-17, with a .907 save percentage and a 2.89 goals-against over 56 total games. So his improvement was substantial last year, perhaps due in part to facing fewer shots on a per-game basis (30.6 shots against per game in 2016-17; 28 shots per game last season). Better defense in front of him will make any goaltender better.

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The Jets clearly see Hellebuyck as a key piece of the future, and stability between the pipes is critically important to lock down when it can be found. But with some notable internal free agents come the summer of 2019, with Blake Wheeler and Tyler Myers slated to be unrestricted and Patrik Laine scheduled to be a restricted free agent, keeping the current core together beyond next season will be a challenge.