AS I SEE IT COLUMN: The Jets should call Hellebuyck’s bluff

Connor Hellebuyck, he of the “I just played the best hockey of my career” quote after allowing the most goals in a 5-game playoff series since 1979 (in a first-round loss to Colorado a couple of years ago), told the media in his season-ending interview last spring that he “just wants to win.”

Really? What a shock. Um, every athlete in every sport on earth wants to win.

When Hellebuyck uttered those words, they were dripping with entitlement. It was as if winning an Olympic gold medal somehow entitled him to go back on his word, to renege on the contract he willingly signed, simply because he wants to win.

Earth to Connor: You are no more entitled to wanting to win than any other player in the National Hockey League.

So while Jets fans await to see if Hellebuyck shows up at training camp or not, the Truth North organization should call Connor’s bluff and publicly say to the media “if Connor truly wants to win, he has an excellent chance to do that in Winnipeg.”

That might sound a bit crazy when describing a team that didn’t even make the playoffs last year, but when you consider the Jets went out and signed goaltender Stuart Skinner in the summer, the Jets could have one of the best, if not ‘the’ best goaltending tandems in the entire NHL.

The Jets ownership and management haven’t said anything of note about Connor since all this craziness started. They’ve gone out of their way not to offend their star goalie.

But if they went public telling Hellebuyck that he has an excellent chance to win by staying right here in Manitoba – you know, the place he signed a long-term contract in his promise to play for the Jets until 2031 – the pressure would be squarely on Hellebuyck.

If he goes the route of staying away from camp, it would expose the “I just want to win” line as a complete and utter lie. He can’t win if he doesn’t play.

And conversely, if Hellebuyck recognizes the Jets aren’t going to trade him until they get a decent return, he might just come to the realization that playing in a tandem with Skinner could give Hellebuyck a decent-to-good shot of winning if he honours his contract and reports to camp.

One of the most consistent reasons given for Connor’s super sketchy playoff play over pretty much his entire tenure in Winnipeg, is that he was physically tired heading into the post season.

The thinking goes that the Jets would often have to ride Hellebuyck too much in the last weeks of the regular season (to secure a playoff berth) and then there wasn’t enough gas left in the tank for the post-season.

That if the Jets could get a quality 1-B goaltender to augment 1-A Hellebuyck, maybe Connor would play better in the playoffs.

Skinner could provide the quality goaltending that allows the Jets to play Hellebuyck less often in the regular season so he would be well-rested for the playoffs.

Skinner does not have all the individual goaltending awards that Hellebuyck has, but he has something very impressive that Connor does not, two appearances in the Stanley Cup finals.

Hellebuyck once took the Jets to the third round of the playoffs, but that was nearly a decade ago and since then, the so-called “best goalie in the world” hasn’t gotten the Jets anywhere close to that. Skinner taking the Oilers to the cup finals happened as recently as a couple of years ago.

The other thing Connor has to consider is that if he sits out an entire season, he has zero chance of winning, and it would be almost another two years before he could lead any team deep into the playoffs.

By then, he will be nearly three years removed from his gold medal performance and 35 years old. His stock will drop significantly, making it even less likely any true Stanley Cup contenders would trade for an aging netminder who has been horrifically inconsistent in the playoffs for virtually his entire career.

So here’s hoping the Jets call Hellebuyck’s bluff by publicly calling out his character. He can’t honestly say he “wants to win” and then avoid showing up at camp.