“Connor is someone that is a very emotional player,” Cheveldayoff said Monday, “When Connor spoke in public like he did, you can imagine that those are the same kind of conversations that we have (privately) in those regards.
“You don't become an elite player in this league unless you have that kind of emotion, that kind of fire, that kind of drive.”
The Jets (35-35-12) finished seventh in the Central Division and eight points back of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, one season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the top team with a franchise-best 116 points (56-22-4).
In his end-of-season media session on Friday, Hellebuyck, who has won the Vezina Trophy as the League’s top goalie each of the past two seasons and the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2024-25, said, “This year, it was chaos. … We created a lot of our own bad luck.
“Complacency is not going to get us moving forward, so something has got to happen. I’m not going to just sit here and throw every guy under the bus because honestly, I’m a goalie and I know goaltending really well. I can’t say, ‘This forward did this and that defense did that.’ That’s not my spot. I believe in every guy in giving their A-plus effort every single night.
“A lot of times, that’s all you can ask -- give your all every single night. As a teammate, l can really rally behind that and really cherish those moments with those guys. But to just put that same product on the ice, I don’t think it worked for a reason.”
When Hellebuyck signed a seven-year, $59.5 million contract ($8.5 million average annual value) on Oct. 9, 2023, he said he re-signed with Winnipeg because he held a strong belief he could win the Stanley Cup here.
When asked Friday if that belief has been challenged, Hellebuyck said: “Challenge is a great way to put it. It’s been challenged. But that being said, we still have some very elite players in this room. I still feel that we’re a very good team. Like I said, I don’t think we deserve to be where we are. … I’m part of it. I’m not saying that I’m not a big part of it too; I am.”
Hellebuyck started 57 games this season and went 23-23-11 with a 2.86 goals-against average and .895 save percentage. But he also helped Team USA win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February, when he had a 1.18 GAA and .956 save percentage in five games.
The Jets have only reached the Western Conference Final once (2017-18) in Hellebuyck’s 11 seasons with them since being a fifth-round pick (No. 130) at the 2012 NHL Draft.
“As far as putting the organization on notice, that's something that happens each and every day,” Cheveldayoff said. “It doesn't take someone to say it in the public. Each and every day, my job, over the course of whether it's a day or a week or a month or as you draft, as you try to find, as you try to trade, is to try to find a way to fill the pieces, fill the gaps, keep building towards something.
“I would not expect any one of these players to have come into our exit meetings, come to the exit interviews that they had with all of you, and say, 'You know what? It’s OK, it's all right.’”
