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Mike Sudoma \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck said Friday that complacency is not going to give the club a chance at winning a Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we did this year was unacceptable and no one wants to be a part of that. Where do we go from here and what\u2019s the next step?\u201d Hellebuyck began.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a great question. And, incredibly, the answer might involve having to move on from the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner.<\/p>\n
That became evident the more Hellebuyck spoke, specifically about whether he can see a quick turnaround on the horizon for a team with an aging core that just finished 35-35-12 \u2014 a 34-point drop from last year when they captured the Presidents\u2019 Trophy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard. Can you get the pieces that you need? Will the players come? These are always questions that you have in Winnipeg,\u201d said Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made it my home and I like it here, but the majority of the league doesn\u2019t feel the same way. You look at your young guys, who is taking a step and who is going to take a big step. That\u2019s not my job. My job is to stop the puck and make sure that I\u2019m putting my best foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Hellebuyck, who turns 33 next month, was quick to remind everyone what his top priority was \u2014 and that his patience is starting to run thin.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it\u2019s winning a Stanley Cup. That\u2019s my goal and that\u2019s what I have left. That\u2019s what I want on my resum\u00e9,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we did this year was unacceptable and no one wants to be a part of that. Where do we go from here and what\u2019s the next step?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t play this game for the money, I don\u2019t play it for the fame. I do it for my own personal fun and part of that is winning a Cup. For me, I\u2019m just looking at \u2014 I\u2019m hoping I get that. How can I get there?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Free Press asked Hellebuyck directly if his candid comments, combined with the obvious frustration he was feeling, mean some difficult conversations might be on deck between himself and the organization about his future.<\/p>\n
Hellebuyck stood in front of the cameras and microphones, clearly thinking about how he wanted to answer the question.<\/p>\n
Nearly eight full seconds passed before he spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to go and leave any speculation. I love this city and I love playing here. The fans have given me so much and I\u2019ve given so much to the fans. There\u2019s a real connection there. I wish more people around the league would see that and could see that,\u201d said Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I going to go in and tell you that right now I feel amazing about winning a (Stanley) Cup tomorrow? Like, no. No team out of the playoffs is going to say that. No player out of the playoffs is going to say that. But, you know, you make your decisions and you live by them. As time goes by, you try to re-evaluate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an athlete, the only thing you can do is put your best foot forward. You make your decision and put your best foot forward. That\u2019s where my head is at right now,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Kenny Holston \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Hellebuyck attends President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address with members of the United States’ Olympic hockey team, in Washington in February.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Speculation about Hellebuyck\u2019s long-term future began swirling shortly after the Olympics, where he drew plenty of criticisms from some quarters for celebrating the gold medal at the White House, which included accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Donald Trump \u2014 the highest civilian honour in that country.<\/p>\n This at a time when tensions between Canada and the U.S. had ratcheted up, including a trade war and plenty of bluster about the \u201c51st State\u201d from Trump.<\/p>\n Hellebuyck dodged the media for nearly two weeks but finally spoke publicly, defending his actions by saying he was proud of his accomplishments. He also criticized people who had gone after his family members, especially his wife, on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cI played good enough to win a gold medal. And I\u2019m telling you, my game wasn\u2019t different before or after.\u201d<\/p>\n Hellebuyck spoke Friday about the Olympics, saying the three weeks in Milan were the lone bright spot in an otherwise miserable year, which included undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in November and missing three weeks of action. His personal numbers were way down as well \u2014 57 games, 23-23-11 record, 2.86 goals-against average, .895 save percentage.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year, it was chaos,\u201d said Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n \u201cI played good enough to win a gold medal. And I\u2019m telling you, my game wasn\u2019t different before or after. The surgery stunk and all of that. It was hard work getting back as quickly as I possibly can. That was a lot. But, it\u2019s not like I felt my game died off by any means. I thought I kept growing and doing what I do every year, taking small steps forward and fixing things I need to fix and putting my best foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Hassan Ammar \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Hellebuyck celebrates his Gold Medal win at the Olympics in February.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Of course, the NHL team playing in front of Hellebuyck was a far cry from the one wearing the Stars and Stripes in Italy. And you wonder if that ultimate accomplishment has now planted the seed in Hellebuyck\u2019s head of possibly trying to win that elusive Stanley Cup in another market.<\/p>\n Hellebuyck went on to lament the number of tipped and screened goals scored against him \u2014 ones he suggested he had \u201cno control over.\u201d He also spoke about the team playing \u201cloose\u201d in front of him and also took issue with the lack of overall team speed.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no secret we weren\u2019t the fastest team in the league,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of screens and a lot of things that happened that I had no control over.\u201d<\/p>\n Trading Hellebuyck certainly wasn\u2019t in the cards for the Jets. He\u2019s signed for five more seasons at a very reasonable US$8.5 million, with the salary cap projected to skyrocket in the coming years. Plenty of teams would no doubt engage in a bidding war for his services.<\/p>\n However, moving on would be a seismic shift in strategy for the Jets, who purport to be in \u201cwin now\u201d mode even if this past year suggested that may be more of a dream than a reality.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s winning a Stanley Cup. That\u2019s my goal and that\u2019s what I have left.\u201d<\/p>\n Hellebuyck was asked what the organization needs to do to make his life a little easier in the crease. He said that\u2019s a great question for general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who is set to speak with the media next week.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my perspective, I would like to see\u2026 complacency is not going to get us moving forward. So something has got to happen,\u201d said Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to just sit here and throw every guy under the bus because, honestly, I\u2019m a goalie and I know goaltending really well. I can\u2019t say this forward did this and that defence did that. That\u2019s not my spot. But to just put that same product on the ice, I don\u2019t think it worked for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n Is it possible that Friday was just a case of him blowing off some steam and, ultimately, cooler heads will prevail? Hellebuyck admitted he\u2019s going to use a longer-than-expected off-season as an opportunity to reset and recharge, both physically and mentally.<\/p>\n There clearly are wounds. Might time eventually heal them?<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Tony Gutierrez \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made it clear Friday his patience is starting to run thin with the club building a Stanley Cup winning team.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThis is hard for any athlete that doesn\u2019t make the playoffs. It\u2019s the next day. All of a sudden you\u2019re going to come over here and say we\u2019re going to be amazing next year after we just did that (miss the playoffs). That\u2019s not how it works,\u201d said Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n \u201cTo take the step back that we did this year just felt very wrong. From the Presidents\u2019 Trophy to this, it felt like this should have never happened. And it did. I\u2019m part of it. I\u2019m not saying that I\u2019m not a big part of it, too. I am. Looking at the future, it takes time. It takes time to re-evaluate those things.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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