When practice got started this morning at hockey for all centre the one notable absence was two-time Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck. While the Jets are carrying three goalies, the team was coming off two days away from the rink, so it seemed unusual for him not to be present.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Of course speculation began on twitter but Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press quashed that tweeting:
“Just to quell the speculation before it spins out of control on social media, a source says that #NHLJets G Connor Hellebuyck is not dealing with an injury. Arniel will provide an update on his absence after today’s practice.”
After skate concluded we got an update from head coach Scott Arniel who indicated:
“He’s away for family, personal reason. Might not be back for tomorrow’s practice, but we’re expecting him to be on that plane when we head to Edmonton. So he’s got some family stuff that he’s just looking after, has to take care of. We’ll just give him his privacy and move forward.”
This now leaves Winnipeg in a quandary as they have 24 guys on the roster. The likely move is to send Elias Salomonsson down to the Moose as he doesn’t have to pass through waivers and then they can choose to keep up one of the goalies once they confirm Connor Hellebuyck is available for the trip to Alberta.
Arniel said they have until 4 PM CDT to figure that out.
