WINNIPEG – Connor Hellebuyck had a heck of a season in 2024-25.
The 32-year-old will win his third Vezina Trophy next month and possibly his first Hart Trophy after putting up 47 wins, a 2.00 goals against average, .925 save percentage and eight shutouts.
He helped the United States get to the championship game at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Jets past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Hellebuyck also struggled through the first round series against the St. Louis Blues, especially on the road but looked more like himself in Game 7 and then throughout the Dallas series.
"I got to take a step back and look at my game, my regular season game, and see if it needed to change for the playoffs and I learned a lot of things. I learned what makes me tick even more. I reassured some things that I already thought,” said Hellebuyck.
“From today to the next playoff game, it's going to be all about building that back up and feeling good about myself and liking where my game is at and getting ready to bring it every single night. That's what playoffs are all about. Ride the waves and every single moment matters.”
In the three elimination games that Hellebuyck played in this spring, he went 2-1 with a 1.39 goals against average, .930 save percentage and one shutout. After St. Louis took a 3-1 lead in Game 7, he shut the door the rest of the way to get the double overtime victory and stopped 18 of 20 in the heartbreaking overtime loss to Dallas in Game 6.
“I think this playoff run, there was a lot of learning curves and a lot of things that we've learned and can take away. I know this group is going to get a lot better from that. Not only did we get tighter as a family, but our game got tighter and we're going to continue to grow that and build that,” said Hellebuyck.
“We have pretty much the same group coming back, so we're all very motivated for a Cup. That's our goal. That's all we've got on our mind from now to next year at this time of year. It's all about building the process."
Following the loss to Dallas, Hellebuyck shared a long hug with Mark Scheifele on the ice, Scheifele lost his father Brad earlier in the day. When he was asked about what was said during that embrace, Hellebuyck stayed away from the key details and decided to go with the message.
"You know, we're a family in here and you can really feel it in those moments,” said Hellebuyck.
“Everything that we're going through is bringing us closer together and this team couldn't be any tighter. So that's what I'll say."
The consistent question that is asked about Hellebuyck after each season is about his workload. He played 79 games (63 regular season, 3 4 Nations Face-Off and 13 playoff games) in 2024-25. This is the fourth straight season he has played 60 or more regular season contests. But something the Jets have done really well with their star goaltender is getting Hellebuyck rest whenever the opportunity presents itself.
“We have a phenomenal organization around me and (Wade Flaherty) is just phenomenal at managing, knowing how I’m feeling, and how the schedule plays out because it’s different every year,” said Hellebuyck.
“We had a really good rhythm, and I was able to get my rest when I needed it. I was able to stay in a rhythm all year long. The guys made it so much easier in front of me bringing down the workload in shots and chances and letting me see pucks and rebounds.”
Saturday, the Jets were one goal away from forcing a Game 7 back in Winnipeg. In the end, they were 10 wins away from the ultimate goal, winning the Stanley Cup. But each setback brings a lesson with it. Hellebuyck remains optimistic about the direction the organization is going and answered the question about what it is going to take to get the team over the top.
“I think it’s kind of what we’ve been doing. We’re just continuing to grow our game as a group and figuring out what we want to work on and tweak. We don’t want to over tweak things because we did have a lot of success, but we have to build on that,” said Hellebuyck.
“Just because we had success it doesn’t mean this team is going to sit back and say, ‘let’s just do that.’ No. I know this team and we’re all a bunch of guys that love to learn the game and love to study the game. We’re going to take what we’ve built this year and take it to a whole new level next year.”
