WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Jets are officially on the clock for a deadline they would much rather ignore.
“We’re not sure what the next play is going to be,” head coach Scott Arniel said Monday, as the Jets returned to practice following Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. “Things will play themselves out, and we’ll have a lot more answers for you… when that time arrives. I’m not running away from anything. Until he shows up here, or whatever may happen, or a trade happens, or whatever that is, it’s hard to talk about.”
For the better part of three weeks, Jets management quietly kept Connor Hellebuyck under a team-imposed suspension as both sides navigated the franchise goaltender’s months-long trade demand.
Hellebuyck reportedly notified the club on Oct. 2 that he planned to end his holdout, only for the Jets to leverage the league’s collective bargaining agreement and issue him a three-week suspension.
The clock runs out this Friday.
When Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the news minutes before Saturday’s puck drop, the ripple effect through the organization was swift. Players were caught off-guard by the internal timeline going public, with the post-game availabilities reflecting the shock of the moment.
Hellebuyck’s close friend and fellow U.S. Olympian, Kyle Connor, preferred not to touch it. Captain Adam Lowry was a bit more forthcoming, noting that if Hellebuyck does return — if, being the big word here — some hard conversations would need to take place before anything was water under the bridge.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed; he’s one of the best goalies in the world,” Lowry said Saturday. “But at the same time, it’s news, but it’s unfair to speculate on what’s going to happen between now and Friday.”
Arniel was the most visibly animated after the loss, though his frustration seemed fuelled as much by giving up a pair of leads to Carolina as it was by taking questions about his absent goaltender. At the time, he said it was a problem for general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.
By Monday afternoon, the post-game frustration was gone, but the fog around Hellebuyck’s potential return remained.
“Players are waiting to see; everybody’s waiting. I’m waiting,” Arniel added. “We’re all trying to wait and see how this plays itself out. It’s an unknown for us. We don’t know if it’s Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday.”
The most pressing question remains: will Hellebuyck actually report? The Jets claim they have no idea, and we’re well past the point of taking Hellebuyck at his word.
But assuming Hellebuyck does report on Friday, what would the reception be?
An overwhelming outside narrative strongly suggests Hellebuyck wouldn’t be welcomed back. But that feels more like a public assumption than what’s actually playing out in the locker room. Or at least what’s being said.
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While there are likely some unhappy teammates, Arniel denied any mutiny brewing.
“I don’t think our whole group is saying ‘Oh, we don’t want you.’ There’s some things that have happened on the outside that have probably built that narrative,” Arniel said. “There’s none of us saying that right now. It’s not us saying we don’t want anything to do with him anymore. We’re really just trying to see how this plays out.”
Of course, there’s a difference between not being hostile and rolling out the red carpet. If Hellebuyck steps back into the locker room, there will likely be some pointed guidelines for a smooth return.
Forward Cole Perfetti addressed that on Monday, doing his best to draw a line in the sand, speaking almost verbatim to Kyle Connor’s comments at the start of training camp.
“We’re all kind of in the same boat. You hear the news, and all I’m going to say is we want guys that want to be here,” Perfetti said. “We’re a family in here. We have big goals and aspirations for this season. We know what we want to do, and all we want are guys that want to be committed to that goal with us. So, if he comes back and shows that he wants to be a part of this and recommits to this group, then that’s obviously good news.”
Despite Hellebuyck not believing in management or the team’s direction — opinions he has shared in recent months — the Jets appear to be doing just fine without him.
Backed by the tandem of Stuart Skinner and Clay Stevenson, the Jets boast a 4-2-2 record. While that has Winnipeg sitting fourth in the Central Division, the Jets are just three points shy of first-place Minnesota, with a game in hand. As long as the Jets keep winning, Cheveldayoff can remain patient for a trade return that helps his club compete now.
Even if Hellebuyck reports to Winnipeg on Friday, ultimately fulfilling his contractual duties to get paid again, it’s highly unlikely he would hit the ice with his teammates right away. More likely, he would take part in individual conditioning skates while Cheveldayoff continues to work the phones for a trade. Hellebuyck would have to accept any conditioning stint with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
Only adding to the pressure cooker here is the timing of it all. Just two days later, the Jets will host the Montreal Canadiens in the annual Heritage Classic outdoor game at Princess Auto Stadium. As one of the NHL’s marquee events, a horde of national and international media will be coming to Winnipeg.
Protecting the team’s culture under this kind of spotlight will be a full-time job. And with a two-game road trip through the Central Division leading up to the weekend, the Jets will need to do their best not to add to the looming distraction.
“It’s getting asked, for sure. It’s definitely in the air; people are talking about it,” Perfetti admitted. “But we’ve done a pretty good job of blocking out all noise.”
Arniel credited the leadership group for keeping the team focused on the goal at hand. As hard as that’s proven to be, given what’s unfolded over the last few days.
“We got away to do the team building because we had a lot of new guys here,” Arniel said. “Those guys have done a really good job of staying within the room, staying focused on what our goal is, what our assignments are, what our job is. Really trying not to let the outside noise get in. And it’s a big outside noise.”