Hellebuyck eager to build on last year's Vezina campaign

WINNIPEG - Connor Hellebuyck has never been shy about the goals he sets for himself.
Coming off his first Vezina Trophy, he was quick to say what he wants next.
"Well now the only one that matters is the Stanley Cup," said Hellebuyck.
"I'd love to win another Vezina. That would be great. But it's time. I'm in my prime and this team is in its prime. It's time to win a Stanley Cup. Every day has to be building toward that. It doesn't have to happen today, but tomorrow has to be a better version of yourself than it was today."

Of course, Hellebuyck knows the long process to earn the Stanley Cup is only beginning - not just for the Jets, but for all 31 teams.
This season, with a compressed 56-game schedule and nine or 10 match-ups against Canadian teams, Hellebuyck's workload will be monitored perhaps even closer than before.
The 27-year-old said Wednesday he'd like to play 40-45 games. Head coach Paul Maurice wasn't quite willing to put a number on it, but said the conversations between himself, Hellebuyck, goaltending coach Wade Flaherty, and Laurent Brossoit will be ongoing.

"I'm surprised he dropped it to 45 to be honest," said Maurice, grinning. "We lay it out fairly far in advance in what we're thinking, with the understanding it can change all the time. He'll know a week or two in advance, a 60 to 70 per cent chance of what we're doing. He's also never 100 per cent sure he's playing the next night. Flats will go to him and say 'you're going.' Nine times out of 10, Connor expected to. They just move along with that."
Brossoit will be an integral part of the goaltending tandem once again. Maurice still hasn't decided exactly how his goaltenders will work through heavy stretches - like five games in seven nights, which the Jets will see this season.
Even without any preseason games to get into game mode, Brossoit feels confident he's put the work in to be ready.
"I would say camp started a month ago," said Brossoit. "I've been planning and preparing for about that much time as seriously as I can. As soon as I got here, I don't think I needed to increase my workload to get ready. I came prepared and I'm feeling good so far in camp."
Brossoit says he has no set number of games he expects to play this season. His main goal is improving on his 0.906 save percentage from last season and push his close friend Hellebuyck to be his best.
"I think there is a lot of positives in a situation like this. I can learn from watching a Vezina winner day-to-day and see what it takes," he said. "I get to compete on the other side of the ice with him in practice. I like that challenge."
Winnipeg allowed an average of 32.6 shots against per game last season, the seventh most in the NHL.
From Hellebuyck's perspective in the crease, the players in front of him worked to improve their defensive play in front of him. He saw those improvements throughout the season and expects more of the same this year.

"I can already tell in this training camp that once we get that trust, we're going to be a great unit again. Not saying it isn't already there, but I think there is a whole new trust level that I know me and these guys can get to," said Hellebuyck. "It's going to take some time of being together, which is hard in this day and age, but we're going to come together even more than we are now. It's going to be really fun back there for us."
The blue line in front of him includes a new face in Derek Forbort, a new contract for Dylan DeMelo, and another year under the belts of Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Luca Sbisa, and Nathan Beaulieu.
Young players such as Sami Niku and Dylan Samberg continue to press for roster spots, and the addition of veterans like Nate Thompson and Trevor Lewis - in camp on a PTO - can also help defensively.
"We know we've got really competitive defensemen back there," Maurice said. "We added two NHL centres - that's just like adding two NHL defensemen - and we added a defenceman. We're going to be far better in terms of what we ask of Connor Hellebuyck. But our expectation is that he will be a difference maker for us and we're going to need him to be."
ICE CHIPS
Paul Maurice gave a little insight on when to expect prospects Cole Perfetti and Ville Heinola to be in camp following the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
"We'll make a decision on Cole. He's been locked up in a bubble for an awfully long time. He hasn't had a Christmas. He may get a little bit of time to go home," said Maurice. "Ville is in a little bit of a different situation because he's over here now. I don't have a date for you on either one of those guys."