The Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise has never had consistent goaltending. Ondrej Pavelec is the current franchise leader in games played (375), wins (150), losses (156), overtime/shootout losses (47), and shutouts (17). He also has a 0.907 save percentage and 2.86 goals against average for his career. All of these numbers scream “mediocre,” yet he’s been relied upon as the number one goalie for years.
That all changed last fall when Pavelec was placed on waivers at the end of training camp and demoted to the Manitoba Moose. Even though he had one more year on his contract, the team had finally seen enough and was ready to move on.
With Pavelec playing in the minors, Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson were given the opportunity to step into bigger roles. Neither have performed as well as hoped, with the team giving up more goals per game this year than any other year since relocating to Winnipeg.
Hutchinson has been especially disappointing. During the 2014–15 season, he went 21–10–5 while splitting duties with Pavelec. He posted a 0.914 save percentage and 2.39 goals against average and was a big reason the team made the playoffs. The last two seasons have seen a serious digression. He’s won only four of his 15 starts while posting a 0.894 save percentage and 3.23 goals against average. A strong argument could be made that he’s the worst goalie in the league.
Connor Hellebuyck has seen a lot more success this season, and as a result has seen a lot more playing time. Hellebuyck has posted a respectable record of 17–13–1 with a 0.908 save percentage and 2.82 goals against average. These numbers are still well below league average, but at least he’s giving his team a chance on most nights. Things were looking up after a 2–0 shutout against Calgary on January 9, but he gave up six goals on 13 shots in the next two games versus Montreal and Arizona and didn’t make it out of the first period in either game.
The coaching staff decided to go another route after those poor efforts, resulting in Ondrej Pavelec being summoned back from the minors. The move to call upon the veteran Pavelec was made in an effort to stop the bleeding after the team lost five of six games. It sort of worked. The team won its first two games with Pavelec back in net, but it was more due to solid goal-scoring than good goaltending.
Pavelec got two more starts (both losses) before Hellebuyck finally got a chance to get back into action against Chicago on January 26. Hellebuyck had a very strong 38-save performance in his return to action as the Jets beat the Blackhawks for the fourth time in four tries this season. Hellebuyck has played in all four games versus Chicago this year and has a sparkling 0.961 save percentage and 1.25 goals against average in those matchups.
With the win in Chicago, the Jets enter the all-star break on a small roll. It should be interesting to see how long they keep three goalies on their active roster. Hutchinson has watched the past five games from the press box and has been the odd man out since Pavelec was recalled. It seems obvious that the team is ready to move on from Pavelec, so there isn’t much use in keeping him around at the NHL level for the rest of the season. They’ll most likely go back to the conventional two-goalie approach soon; it’s just a matter of whether they send Pavelec back or let Hutchinson have some time with the Moose.
Regardless of that decision, Connor Hellebuyck needs to get the majority of starts down the stretch. He’s certainly the best option they have at the moment, and I believe they still think he has the ability to be an above-average NHL goalie in the near future. At 23, Hellebuyck still has plenty of time to prove he can be an elite goaltender. All goalies go through tough stretches; it’s how they bounce back that’s important. Hopefully the win versus Chicago will propel him and his team down the stretch as they make a run at a playoff spot.
