One way to tell if someone is a great NHL goaltender is consistency.
This means that year in and year out, this masked man will deliver a lot of wins, post great statistics, come up with the big saves for his hockey club, and be the team’s best player on the ice more often than not. These are all tasks that have become difficult to accomplish in today’s high-scoring NHL.
Do not tell that to Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. After winning his second Vezina Trophy last season as the league’s top goaltender, Hellebuyck, 31, is well on his way to potentially winning his third with the season that he is already having.
As of this writing (Saturday night, November 9), Hellebuyck is 11-1 with a 1.83 goals-against average, a .935 save percentage, and three shutouts. Here is where he ranks amongst goaltenders who have played at least 10 games this season:
- First in wins (11)
- First in goals against average (1.83)
- First in save percentage (.935)
- First in shutouts (Three)
- Second in saves (319)
Last season, Hellebuyck finished the year with a record of 37-19-0-4 to go with a 2.39 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage, and five shutouts. As of right now, it appears that his current statistics and his play between the pipes might lead him to win the Vezina again this year.
There are several reasons why Hellebuyck is playing so well right now. For starters, he is probably motivated to show that his play in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs is not who he is.
In last year’s postseason, Hellebuyck struggled in a big way in his team’s first-round loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He finished the series with a 1-4 record and posted a 5.23 goals-against average and a .870 percentage.
As such, Hellebuyck has come into this season with a vengeance. He is focused on elevating both himself and his team to a new level and through his team’s first 15 games, he has been able to accomplish both as he is currently the league’s best goaltender and his team has the best record in the NHL at an astounding 14-1.
Secondly, he is playing with a lot of confidence. A perfect example of this is a game he played against the Avalanche back on Thursday night, November 8.
It was somewhat of a revenge game for the Jets after the Avalanche manhandled them in the playoffs last year. While the Jets struggled to put the puck in the net and scored just one goal, they managed to escape the game with a 1-0 victory thanks to the play of Hellebuyck.
Hellebuyck made 35 saves and was easily the best player on the ice. After the game, Jets head coach Scott Arniel sang Hellebuyck’s praises to The Canadian Press writer Jim Bender.
“For him to come out and to play like he played, really frustrating them, he made some great stops and some fantastic stops,” he said.
Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi echoed Arniel’s thoughts. With that said, he also went further than Arniel when it came to describing Hellebuyck’s play between the pipes.
“There’s no sugar coating, it wasn’t our best game,” Vilardi said. “[Hellebuyck] won that game for us. It’s that simple. Think we had a good first period, and then after that, it just kind of, we kind of lost it somewhere in the middle of the second.
“We’ve got the best goalie in the world, but we can’t play like that and expect to win very many games.”
Lastly, Hellebuyck is a great goaltender in general. He plays big, controls his rebounds, is good at calming things down on the ice, makes big saves when his team needs them, and puts himself in a position to stop second and third opportunities when they arise.
His strong play this season is putting him in a good position to be Team USA’s starting goaltender for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Yes, he has struggled in the NHL’s postseason, but in a quick tournament and with the way he is playing right now, he may be able to help his country win it all.
In looking at Hellebuyck in general, he has quite the NHL resume. Here is what he has accomplished in his career already:
- 286 wins
- 2.61 goals-against average
- .917 save percentage
- 40 shutouts
- Two Vezina Trophies (2020 and 2024)
- Four-time Vezina Trophy finalist
- Four NHL All-Star Games (2018, 2020, 2023, and 2024)
- NHL First All-Star Team (2020 and 2024)
- NHL Second All-Star Team (2018)
In looking at the above, Hellebuyck is currently writing a Hockey Hall of Fame-worthy story. A Cup and some strong performances in the postseason would help make this destination a no-brainer.
With the kind of goaltender Hellebuyck is and the way he is capable of playing every night, there is no doubt that Hellebuyck is on top of the goaltending world.
ITR 44: We Have A Champion…Again – Inside The Rink
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