Hellebuyck honoured to win second Vezina

For the second time in his NHL career, Connor Hellebuyck has won the Vezina Trophy. This time though, he received his award in Las Vegas unlike in 2020, where he had to accept it via zoom because of the COVID pandemic. The usually unflappable Hellebuyck admitted that he was nervous when he went up to receive the award but not for the reason you might think.

“It was nerve wracking making sure I didn’t miss (thanking) anyone this time,” said Hellebuyck.

“I forgot my summer goalie coach (Randy Wilson), got a lot of crap for it. So, I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anyone to thank.”

The Vezina Trophy is voted on by the 32 NHL general managers, and the Jets goaltender brought in 31 first place votes and had 158 points. The Canucks Thatcher Demko finished second with 70 points and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, who got the other first place voted finished third with 40 points.

“It’s an honour. I just know growing up my whole goal was to be the best in the world. This is a stepping stone for that,” said Hellebuyck.

“It’s not just something that’s given or awarded, it’s earned every single day. So, for me, it feels like I’m doing something right.”

You can say that again. Hellebuyck went 37-19-4 with a 2.39 goals against average, .921 save percentage and five shutouts in 60 appearances this season. He also had a career best and league leading 31.8 goals saved above average and led the Jets to fourth place in the overall standings.

“I think we made really big strides this year. We changed our identity a little bit. We brought a solid winning philosophy to Winnipeg,” said Hellebuyck.

“I think our fans bought in and I think our team bought in and just that all round buy-in, I’m pretty proud of that.”

When Rick Bowness took over as the Jets head coach two years ago, he told his number one goaltender that he was going to help cut down on the grade A scoring chances that Hellebuyck would face nightly. Bowness was true to his word as the Jets gave up the fewest goals against last season and Hellebuyck won the William M. Jennings Trophy. TSN analyst and former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennan noticed the improvements in the way Winnipeg defended but feels it shouldn’t take away from how well Hellebuyck performed in 23-24.

“I think a big part of it was still Hellebuyck because I come back to that stabilizing force. I talk about this all the time, there are probably eight general managers in the league that can sleep well at night knowing that they are taken care of in net,” said McLennan.

“Hellebuyck provides that stability. For what he did this year compared to his last Vezina (in 2020) I don’t discount it whatsoever because the team played better in front of him. He still had to be really consistent playing a ton of games.”

Bowness retired after the Jets season ended losing to Colorado in five games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While the Jets didn’t win a championship under Bowness, Hellebuyck feels that the organization is heading in the right direction as Scott Arniel takes over for the veteran coach.

“I think what he did for us is going to make my career. I truthfully believe that he has helped get the best out of me and the best out of our team,” said Hellebuyck.

“I know Arnie is aligned with a lot of the things that he says and done for us, so I’m really excited about the future, but Rick has done a phenomenal job the guys in our room.”

Hellebuyck was also named to the NHL’s First All-Star Team for the second time in his career. The 31-year-old was joined by Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin of the Rangers, Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes and Nashville’s Roman Josi.