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Hellebuyck Signs Avoiding Arbitration

July 24, 2017, 10:12 AM ET [3 Comments]
Peter Tessier
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It was as if some one has just given Elliot Freidman a tip as he tweeted earlier that it would appear the Jets and Hellebuyck would avoid arbitration. Shortly after the Jets announced an extension for Hellebuyck for one year at 2.25 million.

The final piece of the roster is signed.

Now there may be more moves to come but certainly before the draft the Jets have now secured the architecture of this year's team they envisioned. They did not lose anyone of significance to the expansion draft. They added a goalie who can compete for the top spot and played as a true number one in the past. They improved their defence by buying out Mark Stuart and adding Kulikov.

Andrew Copp and Branden Tanev were signed and with any luck a healthy Tyler Myers returns to make an impact on the blue line. The only thing that remains a bit of a mystery is if there are extensions coming for head coach Paul Maurice and GM Kevin Chelveldayoff?

Hellebuyck has been a top prospect for the Jets for some time. In 2014 he helped then farm team the St. John's Ice Caps go to the Calder Cup final the next season he went 28-22-5 with a .921 save percentage. In 2015 he went 7-1-0 on the world championships for team USA and was named to the tournament All-Star team.

Needles to say Hellebuyck is some one who the Jets and their fans expect to be a top tier goalie and this deal is likely a 'prove it' type deal.

What does Hellebuyck have to prove? The simple answer is that he's better than the his record of last year which was 26-19-4 and .907. He's going to get some competition from Steven Mason who has a two year deal at 4.1 million and seems set to be the obvious started.

Between the two goalie the total expenditure for the two likely to start is at 6.35 million. Add in next in line Michael Hutchinson and the team has 7.65 million tied up in goalies for next season.

With this contract the Jets are currently 11th in the league in salary expenditures right behind Philadelphia. With new contracts for Trouba, Little, Enstrom, Lowry, Armia and Ehlers coming next season the Jets will have some interesting moves to make to use their remaining 8 million in cap space effectively.

Is the deal too much? Should the team have gone for more term?

These are both valid questions but this deal probably favours the team more with less risk and pressure on Hellebuyck to earn his next deal. However, if Mason plays the bulk of minutes next season, as is expected, how well will the Jets know what they have in Hellebuyck?

To date Hellebuyck has played 82 NHL games and faced 2255 shots ($1000 per shot against?) with a .910 save percentage. For the Jets and the goalie this deal may represent time for the real Connor Hellebuyck to please stand up.
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