LAS VEGAS — Connor Hellebuyck may be calm in the crease, but the Winnipeg Jets goalie has been waiting four long years for a chance to make amends in his victory speech.
As Hellebuyck stepped to the podium to speak with reporters after winning the second Vezina Trophy of his career on Monday night inside the Fontainebleau Hotel, he showed his sense of humour when discussing the importance of ensuring he included Randy Wilson in his long list of thank yous.
“Yeah. It was nerve-racking, just making sure I didn’t miss anyone this time,” said Hellebuyck, who went 37-19-4, with a 2.39 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and five shutouts in 60 starts this season. “I forgot my summer goalie coach and got a lot of crap for it, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anyone and thank him.”
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck holds the Vezina Trophy at the NHL Awards, Thursday in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/L.E. Baskow)
The Vezina Trophy is voted only by all 32 general managers and Hellebuyck received 31 of 32 first-place votes to win in a near-unanimous decision.
“It’s an honour. I just know growing up my whole goal was to be the best in the world, so this is a stepping-stone for it and that’s not something that’s just given or awarded,” said Hellebuyck. “It’s earned every single day. So, for me, it feels like I’m doing something right.”
Hellebuyck exuded class during his acceptance speech and later spoke of how he became a goalie as a youngster and how his parents supported him as he started chasing his dreams.
“They just wanted to do whatever I wanted to do and that’s the same philosophy I have to my kids. It’s a great lesson they taught me. You’ve got to love what you do,” said Hellebuyck.
“It was when I was younger. My brother, he’s a year older than I am and he would always shoot on me, and I had a knack for stopping pucks and I kind of enjoyed it. So, I think I just kind of gravitated towards it and I was OK at it, so I wanted to do it more and more.”
Hellebuyck has stopped a lot of pucks since the Jets chose him in the fifth round (130th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft.
He’s constantly referred to as the backbone of his team and having an impact player at that prime position brings a sense of relief to his teammates and the coaching staff.
“When you hear coaches get hired for different jobs and they say you’ve got an elite guy and you’re starting from the net and out, that’s exactly what I’m saying right now,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said on Friday afternoon. “You know that when you have that player back there that can win you hockey games when you’re not at your best and he can do what he does, those are things that allow you to move on to focus on other areas of your game. To have him back brings a comfort level.”
Hellebuyck’s trademark intensity on the ice during practice in games is offset by his laidback demeanour off it.
“All of the great ones are ultra competitive. They get mad when they get scored on — and he’s no different,” said Arniel, who was an associate coach with the New York Rangers when Henrik Lundqivst was the starter there. “The personality part of it, I know goalies are all different, everybody likes to say. But he has that outdoor, fisherman, hunter and all of that type of stuff and then it’s go and play goal. He does a great job of staying relaxed and it’s great that he has an outlet like that where it’s not 24 hours of hockey.”
Hellebuyck allowed three or fewer goals in 50 of his 60 appearances, including a pair of 10-game streaks with two or fewer goals against and was second in the NHL in wins (37) and save percentage, fourth in GAA.
He was a big reason the Jets finished tied for fourth overall in the NHL this season with a record of 52-24-6 for 110 points.
“I think we made really big strides this year. We changed our identity a little bit and we brought a solid, winning philosophy to Winnipeg,” said Hellebuyck. “I think our fans bought in and I think our team bought in. And just that all-around buy-in I’m pretty proud of that.”
Hellebuyck praised the job that outgoing head coach Rick Bowness did during his two seasons before he decided to retire in May.
“Rick is an elite coach. What he did for us is going to make my career. I truthfully believe that he has really helped get the best out of me and the best out of our team,” said Hellebuyck, noting he is excited to see Arniel take over as bench boss and happy to see defenceman Dylan DeMelo sign a four-year extension earlier this week. “I know (Arniel) is aligned with a lot of the things he says and has done for us, so I’m really excited about the future.”
Hellebuyck, who also won the award for the best goalie in the NHL in 2020, joins Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as the only other active goalie with multiple Vezina Trophy wins and he paid a compliment to the man who just backstopped his team to the Stanley Cup in Game 7 on Monday.
“He’s a great goaltender and he had a great run and he could just as well be up here,” said Hellebuyck, who became the 23rd goalie in NHL history to win multiple Vezinas. “So, yeah, hats off to him.”
Hellebuyck also appreciated what former head coach Paul Maurice said about hoping the Jets can win a Stanley Cup down the road.
“It was a nice gesture,” said Hellebuyck. “Well, I agree with him. I hope we do as well.”
As happy as he was to go home with some hardware, Hellebuyck knows the first-round loss in five games to the Colorado Avalanche is going to provide some additional fuel going into next season.
And he reiterated his long stated goal of capturing that elusive Stanley Cup as he prepares for his 10th NHL season.
“I kind of washed out everything that I needed to figure out. Now, I’ve just started skating and kind of ramping it back up for another year,” said Hellebuyck. “There’s only one thing left on my mind, and that’s the Stanley Cup, so anything I can do to get there, I’m going to start doing.”
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Ken Wiebe
Sports reporter
Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.
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