AS I SEE IT COLUMN: Connor Hellebuyck is a coward

Being a man of your word, honouring your commitments and standing with your teammates in tough times are character traits that Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck appears to be sorely lacking.

At press time, Hellebuyck has still not said whether he wants to stay in Winnipeg or be traded.

It’s unclear why Hellebuyck has adopted this approach. Does he not realize his reputation is taking a beating? Does he think this “leave everyone hanging” approach is good for his teammates, the organization, his fans or the media?

If he does, he’s delusional.

Ever since he was so candid and upset at the end of a really bad season, there has been all manner of speculation about whether he would honour his contract and stay with the Jets or demand a trade.

He could have squashed all the pants-on-fire conjecture with a simple statement, that he has either not asked to be traded, or that he wants to be moved to another team. He or his agent Ray Petkau could instantly end the guessing game, but Hellebuyck’s camp hasn’t said anything publicly.

Instead, he is content to let those rumours – and the Jets franchise – twist in the wind.

Let’s compare him to two other high-profile Americans. Brady Tkachuk lied through his teeth saying he wanted to stay in Ottawa while secretly demanding a trade to Florida.

Dylan Larkin, captain of the Red Wings, stated publicly that he wants out of Detroit. He knew it would not be popular, but he at least was man enough to tell the truth.

Hellebuyck hasn’t blatantly lied like Tkachuk, but he sure hasn’t shown the character to state his true intentions like Larkin.

This needless mystery is not the making of Jets management. It’s purely and simply a result of Hellebuyck’s selfish cowardice.

Hellebuyck’s “I just want to win” mantra is laugh-out-loud ridiculous. Duh, every player in every sport on earth wants to win. To pretend that it’s somehow okay to back out of a contract that he voluntarily signed simply because he wants to win reeks of classic American self-centred entitlement.

Hellebuyck is either making some bad decisions, getting awful advice, or both.

In the mid 90’s when 2 Sports Guys was the morning show at an all sports station in Tampa, I got to interview Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, who holds the all-time NHL records for most wins (691) and most shutouts (125). He was having such a monster season that many hockey commentators thought he should immediately renegotiate his contract – to strike while the iron is hot.

So I asked Brodeur if he would be renegotiating his contract.

He was annoyed by what my question implied. “Absolutely not. I signed a contract. No one put a gun to my head.” Brodeur told me. “I will honour my contract and we’ll discuss things when the contract is up.”

If only Hellebuyck had a fraction of the class, integrity and honour that Marty Brodeur had.

All of Hellebuyck’s many (and well deserved) personal trophies – won for his regular season play, (certainly not for his perpetually poor postseason performances) – do not entitle Connor to slink out of a contract he willingly signed.

It’s one thing to play so poorly, so often, in the playoffs. It’s quite another to renege on a contract, to throw your teammates and fans and the owner who you promised you would stay in Winnipeg, under the bus.

Whatever game he thinks he’s playing by keeping silent, it’s not working. Not for Jets fans, the media, his teammates and certainly not for his deteriorating reputation.

It was bad enough he allowed himself to be used as a political pawn by Trump after the Olympics when many other professional athletes had refused to be anywhere near the deeply unstable convicted felon in the White House.

But this silent treatment, intentionally letting rumours run rampant around the league without clarifying where he stands, is yet another brutal look for Hellebuyck.

Be a man Connor. Tell the truth. Don’t be such a coward.