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DAVID ZALUBOWSKI\/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Thursday marks Day 29 of Winnipeg Jets franchise goaltender Connor Hellebuyck\u2019s suspension this season after not reporting to training camp.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Jets are under no obligation to move Hellebuyck, but have indicated they would try to accommodate him if another team meets their needs. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has made it clear he needs to \u201cget this right\u201d and wants a haul for a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and one-time Hart Trophy recipient.<\/p>\n
The Jets \u2014 as was their right \u2014 officially suspended Hellebuyck on the evening of Sept. 16. Thursday marks Day 29 and counting. Although the 33-year-old Michigan product is technically still part of the organization, he doesn\u2019t count against the 23-man roster or the salary cap.<\/p>\n
Hellebuyck began losing money Sept. 29 when the NHL season began and players started getting paid. Based on his US$8.5-million salary, he\u2019s kissing US$38,600 per day goodbye. Wednesday marks Day 16 without a paycheque, bringing his total losses to US$617,600 and counting.<\/p>\n
If you want to watch those dollars disappear in real time, along with a Winnipeg-centric running tally of how the money could have been spent (such as the number of Slurpees or Fat Boys), check out the cheeky, fan-created website www.hellebucks.com.<\/p>\n
Now that you\u2019re properly refreshed, here\u2019s a sneak peek at where the latest episode might be headed.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t SCREENSHOT<\/p>\n The aptly named hellebucks.com records by the second how much the Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck has lost in pay since the regular season started back in September.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Many have assumed the only way this ends is with an eventual trade. The Jets remain in control of that outcome, perhaps with a little extra leverage these days. They\u2019re off to a 4-1-1 start, new No. 1 Stuart Skinner has quickly become a fan favourite, and several NHL teams are dealing with a crisis in the crease because of injuries or poor play.<\/p>\n Advantage, Winnipeg?<\/p>\n Not so fast. Hellebuyck still has some power, and we\u2019re not just talking about his full no-movement clause, which allows him to veto any trade and narrow the list of potential suitors.<\/p>\n No, he also has a rather sizable trump card to play, should he choose.<\/p>\n Cue the dramatic music and zoom in for the extreme close-up.<\/p>\n Hellebuyck could simply decide to end his holdout at any moment, hop on a plane and return to the organization that drafted him in the fifth round, 130th overall, in 2012.<\/p>\n The possibility of such a return grows with each passing day and each lost paycheque.<\/p>\n The Free Press can confirm, through league sources, that the possibility of such a return grows with each passing day and each lost paycheque. What once seemed completely far-fetched could now be just around the corner, with no other resolution to this stalemate seemingly on the horizon.<\/p>\n Oh, what a tangled web that would weave. What happens then?<\/p>\n A tip of the cap to the good folks at PuckPedia, who know NHL contract law inside and out. They\u2019ve noted that it may not be quite as simple as Hellebuyck strolling back into the dressing room, saying, \u201cHey guys, what\u2019s up?\u201d and immediately resuming his role as the team\u2019s primary puckstopper.<\/p>\n The Jets could keep him sidelined, at least temporarily, should he do an about-face.<\/p>\n The Jets could keep Hellebuyck sidelined, at least temporarily, should he do an about-face.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where the lawyers would likely get involved \u2014 not to mention the league and the players\u2019 union \u2014 as a rarely used section of the collective bargaining agreement could come into play.<\/p>\n Specifically, Article 15.13(c)(v) allows a team to impose a disciplinary suspension of \u201creasonable length\u201d on a player who skips training camp without permission.<\/p>\n What constitutes a reasonable length? We may soon find out.<\/p>\n Another provision, Article 15.13(c)(ii), allows a team to keep a player suspended until he is deemed fit and ready to play. The Jets could invoke that clause first, arguing that after nearly a month of missed practices and game action, Hellebuyck wouldn\u2019t be in shape.<\/p>\n For how long? We may soon find out.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, nobody involved in this saga is willing to discuss it publicly. Not the Jets. Not Hellebuyck. Not his Steinbach-based agent Ray Petkau. A cone of silence has descended, even as the noise ramps up considerably behind the scenes.<\/p>\n But the audience is growing, and it extends well beyond Winnipeg. NHL general managers, agents and players are watching closely, curious to see how this unprecedented standoff ultimately plays out.<\/p>\n So far, the Jets have done an impressive job of preventing the situation from becoming a distraction. In fact, one could argue it has provided some extra motivation, following up some stinging words from Hellebuyck about the team last spring with stunning actions that suggest he no longer believes in what they\u2019re trying to build here.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s difficult to imagine everyone continuing to put on a brave face if Hellebuyck were to return given everything that has transpired. League sources have told the Free Press there would be plenty of pushback within the organization, including from players.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to put water under a bridge that has been burned to the ground.<\/p>\n Jets forward Kyle Connor, a fellow Michigan native, U.S. Olympian and good friend of Hellebuyck\u2019s, suggested as much in a candid recent interview. Jets head coach Scott Arniel was asked the other day whether the team had a plan should Hellebuyck return.<\/p>\n \u201cNope,\u201d was his immediate answer.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t GENE J. PUSKAR \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets goaltenders Clay Stevenson (right) and Stuart Skinner (left) have backstopped the club to a hot 4-1-1 start, giving the franchise time in their search for franchise netminder Connor Hellebuyck\u2019s new hockey home.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n To be crystal clear, Hellebuyck would be within his rights to return. He still has a contract, and the Jets would have to stickhandle their way through the situation beyond any additional suspension they might be able to impose which would only delay the inevitable.<\/p>\n Could such a scenario crank up the pressure on Cheveldayoff to accept the best offer on the table and sign off on a deal? You can bet Hellebuyck would be banking on it.<\/p>\n And if the offers are still deemed insufficient and Cheveldayoff won\u2019t pull the trigger, the Jets would have an awkward roster problem to solve.<\/p>\n Do they waive Clay Stevenson \u2014 the intriguing new backup to Skinner whom they just acquired off waivers themselves? They would risk losing him to another team putting in a claim. If they keep Stevenson and opt to carry three goaltenders temporarily, a forward or defenceman would have to go to make space for the malcontent masked man.<\/p>\n Imagine how that would play in what has become a tight-knit room \u2014 one that appears to have taken this entire saga personally. Letting the elephant back in the room would test even the strongest resolve.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \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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