The last time a goaltender won the Hart Trophy was in 2014-15, when Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens took home the award. Through the midway point of the 2024-25 season, it’s clear that Connor Hellebuyck should be in the MVP conversation.
“He’s unbelievable, the best goalie in the league in my view.”
That’s what Winnipeg Jets star defenceman Josh Morrissey said about his goaltender, Hellebuyck, after a relatively modest 26-save performance against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec 14.
Often labelled as having a “big and boring” style of goaltending, Hellebuyck’s numbers this season have been anything but. The Jets’ star netminder has improved off of his Vezina-winning campaign a season ago, and is forcing his way into discussions around the Hart Trophy for the NHL’s most valuable player.
Connor Hellebuyck should be considered for the Hart Trophy
Hellebuyck’s numbers are so strong that there aren’t many debates surrounding the Vezina Trophy this season. He’s making an incredibly strong case to be a unanimous winner, lapping the field in every major goaltender category.
Of goalies that have started at least 20 games this season, Hellebuyck ranks first in the following categories: Wins (25), SV% (.926), GAA (2.08), Shutouts (5), Goals Saved Above Expected (25.7), and Saves (865).
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
There has never been a unanimous Vezina Trophy winner, but Hellebuyck is making as strong a case as ever to be the first. There is no reasonable argument, yet, for any other goaltender to win the award. In 2023-24, he came up one vote shy of being a unanimous winner of the award, as Sergei Bobrovsky received one first-place vote.
This level of dominance is coming during a goaltending epidemic, as well, as teams across the league are struggling to find stability in the crease. The NHL’s league-wide save percentage this season is .900, the lowest it has been since 2005-06. It’s also the third-lowest mark of the last 30 years. Despite that, Hellebucyk’s SV% has gone up since last season, along with all of his other numbers, as he’s on pace to set a handful of career highs.
Hellebuyck joins elite company with 300th win
Hellebuyck picked up his 300th career win on Tuesday, Jan 7, in a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. This put him in some elite company among the greats in NHL history.
He became the third-fastest goaltender all-time to reach 300 wins, doing it in 538 games played. That mark also made him the fastest US-born goaltender of all time to reach the milestone.
Jacques Plante, who played from 1952-53 until 1974-75, is the only goaltender to reach the 300-win mark while also having 40 shutouts quicker than Hellebuyck did. Plante did it in 521 starts, Hellebuyck in 529.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Here’s another mind-boggling stat: If you combine every other Jets’ 2.0 goaltender’s wins, from Ondrej Pavelec to Laurent Brossoit, Eric Comrie, and every goalie in between, they combine for 247 wins in 562 games played. Hellebuyck has won 300 in 538.
Jets Head Coach Scott Arniel called Hellebuyck an “era goalie” after his 300th win, bringing up his name with some of the all-time greats.
“I think there’s been sort of era goalies,” Arniel said. “I mean if you go through [Martin Broduer], you go through Patrick Roy, you work your way up. I had a chance to be around [Henrik Lundqvist] in New York…”
The 31-year-old goaltender should be mentioned among those greats, and if he can clinch his third Vezina this season, he would be one of just 12 goalies in the history of the NHL to win three or more.
“And to be able to be around that, to watch that and be behind a bench watching that every night — that’s special for me. These guys, they only come around every so often. He’s one of those guys. And we’ve got him for a few more years, which is great.”
He continues to embrace the city of Winnipeg and its fans
For Jets fans, possibly the part of this unfathomable run that Hellebuyck is on that will stand out the most, is how much he has embraced the city. While putting together the pieces for a hall-of-fame career, it looks like he’s going to be a lifetime Jet while doing so. Arniel recognized Hellebuyck’s committment to this city – and its fans – after his 300th win.
“The biggest thing for me is that he signed that deal last summer,” Arniel said. “That just proved that he loves being here. He loves a lot of what Winnipeg brings, what Manitoba brings — especially the outdoors stuff. His love for the fans is based on how they cheer his name and how they give him standing ovations. He loves to show it back like that.”
Hellebucyk was named the first star on Tuesday night, a moment that he usually takes to skate around the ice and celebrate with the fans. On this night, he held the crest of his jersey while raising his hand to the crowd, showing his appreciation for the fans.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
“I was trying to share the moment with the fans,” Hellebuyck said. “At the heart of our game, we’re kind of entertainers. They’ve been with us through the start of this. Everyone that was in the crowd tonight, I was trying to give them a piece of that emotion that I was feeling.”
It was a special moment inside Canada Life Centre and one that I’m sure Hellebuyck, and the fans inside the building will remember for a long time.
There have been many times this season where it has been appropriate to remind Jets fans that Hellebuyck is in year one of a seven-year, $8.5M AAV contract. Looking back at the grand scheme of his career, Jets fans can appreciate that they are watching a hall-of-fame career unfold in front of their very eyes. A hall-of-fame level career that started, and will almost certainly end, within the city of Winnipeg.
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