For now, coach Scott Arniel has put his faith in backup goalies to lead the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets are in a tough spot. By all accounts, it’s going to “take a hockey village” to keep Winnipeg competitive until key personnel return to the active roster.
After Sunday’s 3–0 loss at home to the Minnesota Wild, the Jets sit in fifth place (12–9–0) in the NHL’s Central Division. Winnipeg has mustered 24 points in 21 games, trailing the Colorado Avalanche, who have collected a division-leading 37 points.
With the Jets hitting the road for a three-game swing that takes them to Washington on Wednesday, Carolina on Friday, and a date with the Nashville Predators on Saturday, of the team’s injured players, Hellebuyck’s absence is the most devastating.
Voted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association as the 2024–2025 Hart Memorial Trophy recipient (recognized as the NHL MVP)—and also picking up Vezina Trophy honors for the second consecutive season as the top goaltender recognized by NHL general managers—having Hellebuyck not on the ice for any period of time remains a major blow to Winnipeg’s opportunities to skate in the postseason.
Hellebuyck has long been expected to be Team USA’s starting goaltender at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, scheduled for February.
Just last season, Hellebuyck was a virtual wall in front of the net for the Jets. His 47-12-3 record, along with an astonishing 2.00 goals-against average, had the 11-year veteran playing on another level than his peers in pads.
Having won the Vezina Trophy three of the past six seasons is rare in NHL circles. Goalies are also seldom in the conversation for MVP honors. The last time a goalie won the Hart Trophy was more than a decade ago, when Montreal Canadiens’ netminder Carey Price took the honor in 2015. Before Price’s selection, you have to go back to 2002 when another Canadiens’ goaltender, Jose Theodore, got the nod.
On Nov. 24, according to the NHL media site, Hellebuyck was placed on the injured reserve list. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Nov. 22 and is expected to miss the next four to six weeks of ice time. Hellebuyck’s knee issue has been bothering him for some time. At the time of Hellebuyck’s decision to have his knee repaired, this season, he is 8–6 in 14 games played with a 2.51 goals-against average.
Eric Comrie, Hellebuyck’s backup, has seen action in 84 games over 13 NHL seasons. Comrie has appeared in seven games this season. The Jets’ starter in the Nets’ on Sunday, Comrie, made 27 saves. Winnipeg has lost six of their last nine games.
This past Friday, the Jets promoted Thomas Milic from their American Hockey League affiliate—the Manitoba Moose. Milic is now Comrie’s backup. Conveniently for the Jets, the Moose are based in Winnipeg and skate in the same building as the Jets, the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. Milic is 5-2-2 this season for Manitoba.
Kevin Cheveldayoff, Jets’ longtime executive vice president and general manager, and Manitoba Moose coach Mark Morrison are probably working closer at this time, given the Jets’ injuries, than at any other point in their professional association.
The Moose are in the midst of a six-game homestand. Tonight, Manitoba welcomes the Belleville Senators (NHL Ottawa Senators’ AHL affiliate) for two consecutive nights of hockey. The Moose is currently in second place in the AHL Central with 20 points, behind division leader Grand Rapids Griffins.
Jets’ defenseman Neal Pionk was injured in Sunday’s game with the Wild with what the team is calling a lower-body issue. Early in Sunday’s game’s first period, Pionk took himself out of action and didn’t return.
Just last March, Pionk was out of action for about one month due to lower-body concerns. The Jets announced on Sunday that Pionk would be further evaluated on Monday. They have yet to release an update on Pionk’s medical status.
Manitoba’s defenseman Haydn Fleury, in a game on November 11 with the Vancouver Canucks, was believed to have suffered a concussion. NHL concussion protocol calls for a player to be out of action for at least one to two weeks. The player must follow a multi-step, doctor-supervised return-to-play process before returning to his team once being medically cleared.
The Jets are celebrating their 15th anniversary of returning to the NHL after their franchise was relocated to Phoenix for the 1996–1997 season. Winnipeg is the NHL’s smallest market among the 32 teams.
