- Connor Hellebuyck called Winnipeg’s 2025-26 season “unacceptable” at locker cleanout on Friday.
- The three-time Vezina winner paused for seven seconds when asked about his future with the Jets.
- Read below for everything Hellebuyck said about complacency, Kevin Cheveldayoff, and what comes next in Winnipeg.
Connor Hellebuyck has spent his entire career in Winnipeg. On Friday the Jets goaltender left little doubt he is fed up with where the franchise is headed.
Winnipeg went from the Presidents’ Trophy to missing the playoffs in a single year. During locker cleanout on April 17, Hellebuyck did not sugarcoat the fall.
“What we did this year was unacceptable. No one wants to be part of that,” Hellebuyck said.
When reporters asked what the Jets can do to fix things, the reigning Hart Trophy winner pointed the question straight at general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.
“From my perspective, complacency is not gonna get us moving forward, so something’s gotta happen,” Hellebuyck said. Running back the same roster, he made clear, is not going to cut it.
The harder moment came when a reporter asked if the collapse would force him to re-evaluate his future in Winnipeg. Hellebuyck paused for roughly seven seconds before he spoke.
“I don’t want to go and leave any speculation,” he finally said. “I love this city, and I love playing here. The fans have given me so much, and I’ve given so much to the fans. There’s a real connection there.”
Hellebuyck finished 23-23-11 with a .895 save percentage and a 2.86 goals-against average, well off his Hart and Vezina pace from a year ago. A knee procedure cost him time early in the season, which did not help matters.
Winnipeg was eliminated from the playoff picture earlier this month in a watered-down Western Conference where 90 points would have been enough to get in. The Jets finished with 82. A year after Winnipeg’s Presidents’ Trophy run, Colorado holds that banner and the Jets are the cautionary tale.
Per TSN’s Danielle Bain, Hellebuyck also pushed back on the idea that Winnipeg cannot attract free agents. He has made the city his home, he said, even if the rest of the league does not feel the same way.
Cheveldayoff has roughly $21.6 million in cap space to work with this summer. Based on what his franchise goalie said Friday, the clock is already ticking.
