Confirmed with Link: Jets re-sign Connor Hellebuyck on a six-year, $37M contract ($6.167M AAV).

[raideralex99]

It's not his contract but what this does for the team. We have about $ 21. 3 million left and if you take off the $3.7 million in bonus money that could be due, it leaves $17. 4 million to sign 4 forwards and 3 D-man. If Trouba, Morrissey and Poolman get a combined $13 million that leaves a little over $4 million for Lowry, Tanev, Dano and Petan who are all RFA's. So something has to give. That's for this year, wait until next year with Connor, Wheeler, Laine, Myers, Chariot, Morrow and Copp all up for contracts.

Why worry about 2 seasons from now?
Don't forget Wheeler & Myers have a combined cap hit of $11.1 million this year ... I think there will be room to move the figures around to sign the players in the future especially if they want to be here.

 

[surixon]

There's enough room for the Jets to sign:
Trouba @ $6.5M
Morrissey @ $5.0M
Lowry @ $2.75M
Tanev @ $1.0M
Petan @ $0.900M
Poolman @ $0.900M
Dano @ $0.900M

$17.95M - so they eat into the bonus cushion a bit. It's pretty small potatoes. Stuart's cap hit is costing the Jets $583,000 this year and that disappears next season. There's your bonus cushion recovery to finance this. Or they could trade someone.

Think you trade a guy like Chariot and replace him with a dmen making around $800 k to sit in the press box if you need a tad more wiggle room. $1.4 million is far too much cap to allocate to your 7th/8th dmen.

 

[Whileee]

There's enough room for the Jets to sign:
Trouba @ $6.5M
Morrissey @ $5.0M
Lowry @ $2.75M
Tanev @ $1.0M
Petan @ $0.900M
Poolman @ $0.900M
Dano @ $0.900M

$17.95M - so they eat into the bonus cushion a bit. It's pretty small potatoes. Stuart's cap hit is costing the Jets $583,000 this year and that disappears next season. There's your bonus cushion recovery to finance this. Or they could trade someone.

Or, you could replace Tanev or Dano with Appleton and add another 0.15 to 0.25M to Morrissey's deal.

It is going to be very tight. It makes it clear how necessary the Mason / Armia trade was, and that they would have had to move a player like Myers or Perreault if they had any thoughts of signing Stastny.

 

[sting13]

Couldn't be more happy with this deal , goaltending is the most important part of any championship team without goaltending you aren't winning **** . The goalie is the most important position , like a QB in football . 6 million a year for one of the best goalies in the NHL who is just starting his prime is a steal . Way to go Chevy !!

It would seem to be goaltending is the key but it may not be the case. Holtby had a awful year and started the playoffs as a back up. He playeed very good but not great in the playoffs. Murray\Fleury weren't outstanding nor was Crawford.
It seems to be Centre is the key. Backstrom, Kuzy, Eller and checker Beagle were great. Crosby, Malkin, Bonino with the Pens. Strength up the middle,

 

[surixon]

It would seem to be goaltending is the key but it may not be the case. Holtby had a awful year and started the playoffs as a back up. He playeed very good but not great in the playoffs. Murray\Fleury weren't outstanding nor was Crawford.
It seems to be Centre is the key. Backstrom, Kuzy, Eller and checker Beagle were great. Crosby, Malkin, Bonino with the Pens. Strength up the middle,

Yes but the counter to that is the Hawks won three cups with strong winger and defensive depth. None of their cup teams where particularity strong down the middle once you got past Toews:

2010:

Toews
Bolland
Madden
Fraser

2013
Toews
Bolland
Handzues
Kruger

2015
Toews
Richards
Vermette
Kruger

 

[QuietContrarian]

Yeeesh, so important to lock him down.

 

[sting13]

Yes but the counter to that is the Hawks won three cups with strong winger and defensive depth. None of their cup teams where particularity strong down the middle once you got past Toews.

I understand where you are coming from but the game has changed a great deal since the Hawks won the cup. It's a much faster, skilled game since the Hawks won. The key players from Hawks are still there and now they are on the bottom of the division.

 

[surixon]

I understand where you are coming from but the game has changed a great deal since the Hawks won the cup. It's a much faster, skilled game since the Hawks won. The key players from Hawks are still there and now they are on the bottom of the division.

Their skilled players have aged and lost effectiveness for the most part. That and they have next to no depth anymore. They were the trend setters for playing the fast skilled game so not really sure what you mean by your first sentence.

The point was there is more then one way to win a cup.

Not that I don't think center depth isn't very important to winning but imo the Jets still have a very strong contingent down the middle so I am not concerned there.

 

[White Out 902]

Good deal, the cap hit is right around where I thought it should be

 

[sting13]

Their skilled players have aged and lost effectiveness for the most part. That and they have next to no depth anymore. They were the trend setters for playing the fast skilled game so not really sure what you mean by your first sentence.

The point was there is more then one way to win a cup.

Not that I don't think center depth isn't very important to winning but imo the Jets still have a very strong contingent down the middle so I am not concerned there.

Their skilled players are the same age or younger than the Pens and Caps skilled guys. And you made my point for me. They don't have the depth down the middle to compete at the top anymore. The game really changed three years a go with how the refs are calling the game. Stick work and clutch and grab are a great deal less than three years a go. My point was that goalies are not the number 1 key to winning the cup. When was the last time a outstanding goalie won the Cup based just on his play? The two best over the last 10 years or so have never won the cup. Price and Lundqvist. Over the last 15 year the only Vezina winner to win the cup was Thomas.

 

[surixon]

Their skilled players are the same age or younger than the Pens and Caps skilled guys. And you made my point for me. They don't have the depth down the middle to compete at the top anymore. The game really changed three years a go with how the refs are calling the game. Stick work and clutch and grab are a great deal less than three years a go.

Kane is still an elite hockey player but Toew's didn't age as well as Crosby/Malkin.

Hossa and Sharp where two of their best players that routinely scored in the 60 point range from the wings during their cup wins but they aged out of effectiveness.
They made a stupid trade with regards to trading away an high end winger in Panarin

On the backend:

Keith at 34 is a shadow of his Norris/Consmyth self
Seabrook is an anchor now
They no longer have exceptional good support dmen like Campbell, Leddy and Haljmarson to round out their defense.

Their success went far beyond Toews and Kane. Its the fact that the other elite talent around them got old and ineffective or got traded away that is the reason why they are a mess now. Lack of C depth was a small part of their demise.

Also the game was more stringently called starting in 2005 when they took out the red line and started calling obstruction. This isn't a new phenomena.

 

[Muevelo]

Their skilled players are the same age or younger than the Pens and Caps skilled guys. And you made my point for me. They don't have the depth down the middle to compete at the top anymore. The game really changed three years a go with how the refs are calling the game. Stick work and clutch and grab are a great deal less than three years a go. My point was that goalies are not the number 1 key to winning the cup. When was the last time a outstanding goalie won the Cup based just on his play? The two best over the last 10 years or so have never won the cup. Price and Lundqvist. Over the last 15 year the only Vezina winner to win the cup was Thomas.

Martin Brodeur says Hello.

 

[puck stoppa]

Think you trade a guy like Chariot and replace him with a dmen making around $800 k to sit in the press box if you need a tad more wiggle room. $1.4 million is far too much cap to allocate to your 7th/8th dmen.

If you sent him to the Moose would he count against the cap? Could go with JMo, Troubs, Buff, Kuli, Niku, Poolman and Morrow

 

[surixon]

If you sent him to the Moose would he count against the cap? Could go with JMo, Troubs, Buff, Kuli, Niku, Poolman and Morrow

400K of his salary would count so it wouldn't really save us anything. Chariot should also have enough value that a team would likely take him.

 

[sting13]

Martin Brodeur says Hello.

I'm already thinking of this season, so you are correct in that just over 15 years a go he won the Vezina and StanleyCup in the same season.

 

[Muevelo]

I'm already thinking of this season, so you are correct in that just over 15 years a go he won the Vezina and StanleyCup in the same season.

Outside of him, your right though. Loved watching Mikka Kipprusof( incorrect spelling ) play. He deserved better.

 

[sting13]

Kane is still an elite hockey player but Toew's didn't age as well as Crosby/Malkin.

Hossa and Sharp where two of their best players that routinely scored in the 60 point range from the wings during their cup wins but they aged out of effectiveness.
They made a stupid trade with regards to trading away an high end winger in Panarin

On the backend:

Keith at 34 is a shadow of his Norris/Consmyth self
Seabrook is an anchor now
They no longer have exceptional good support dmen like Campbell, Leddy and Haljmarson to round out their defense.

Their success went far beyond Toews and Kane. Its the fact that the other elite talent around them got old and ineffective or got traded away that is the reason why they are a mess now. Lack of C depth was a small part of their demise.

Also the game was more stringently called starting in 2005 when they took out the red line and started calling obstruction. This isn't a new phenomena.

I see all of your points but I disagree regarding the game from 2005 compared to the last three years. It's much faster and skilled and the stick work a great deal less. Having said that, I still don't believe a goalie has been the reason a team won the cup in many many years. It's been speed, skill and depth. None of the top 6 paid goalies in the NHL have won the Stanley Cup. So is it the best place to spend the money?

 

[Edgar Halliwax]

It's a gamble. Do you not remember the Pavelec contract? We have a very small sample size of Helle.

Apples, Oranges...

 

[surixon]

I see all of your points but I disagree regarding the game from 2005 compared to the last three years. It's much faster and skilled and the stick work a great deal less. Having said that, I still don't believe a goalie has been the reason a time won the cup in many many years. It's been speed, skill and depth. None of the top 6 paid goalies in the NHL have won the Stanley Cup. So is it the best places to spend the money?

Holtby was top 6 in cap hit and he just won a cup. He has a Vezina and another runner up finish, he is one of the top 5 goalies in the league. Sure he didn't have his best regular season last year but he came in and settled things down against the Blue Jackets and was a big reason they got through round one. Also a .922 performance in the playoffs is an excellent performance, he was a key part of them winning.

Crawford had the 6th highest cap hit among goalies in 2015 when they won the cup. He also had a very strong playoffs with a .924 that year

Unfortunately cap friendly doesn't go back far enough to check before 2015 but Quick has two cups and had a cap hit of 5.8 million (300K less then Helle) so I would wager that he was in the top 5 or so in cap hit during those years.

So yes I would say that teams that spent good money on good goalies where far better for it and it played a big role in their cup wins. Helle is paid within half a million 300K of two/two time cup winners in Crawford/Quick and about 60k more then the recent cup winner in Holtby. Money well spent imo.

Edit:

Goaltending performances of cup winners:

Holtby .922
Murray .937 and MAF .924
Murray .923
Crawford .924
Quick .911
Crawford .932
Quick .946
Thomas .940
Niemi .910
MAF .908

So in the last 10 years teams that have won have received upper echelon starting goaltending performances in 7 of those years. Only 3 teams have been able to overcome sub par playoff goaltending to win.

Goaltending is just like any other position, in order to win the cup your number one goalie will in most cases need to be performing at a very high level. Just as your skill forwards and defenseman will need to be performing at a high level.

All components firing at the same time are critical to winning. You don't want to have your goalie steal you a cup but you want him to perform well all the same.

 

[Channelcat]

Its high. Basically MA Fleury money. But, no surprises here.

 

[HannuJ]

was shocked as to how sincere and well-spoken Helle is. not a lot of cliches

 

[sting13]

Holtby was top 6 in cap hit and he just won a cup. He has a Vezina and another runner up finish, he is one of the top 5 goalies in the league. Sure he didn't have his best regular season last year but he came in and settled things down against the Blue Jackets and was a big reason they got through round one. Also a .922 performance in the playoffs is an excellent performance, he was a key part of them winning.

Crawford had the 6th highest cap hit among goalies in 2015 when they won the cup. He also had a very strong playoffs with a .924 that year

Unfortunately cap friendly doesn't go back far enough to check before 2015 but Quick has two cups and had a cap hit of 5.8 million (300K less then Helle) so I would wager that he was in the top 5 or so in cap hit during those years.

So yes I would say that teams that spent good money on good goalies where far better for it and it played a big role in their cup wins. Helle is paid within half a million 300K of two/two time cup winners in Crawford/Quick and about 60k more then the recent cup winner in Holtby. Money well spent imo.

Edit:

Goaltending performances of cup winners:

Holtby .922
Murray .937 and MAF .924
Murray .923
Crawford .924
Quick .911
Crawford .932
Quick .946
Thomas .940
Niemi .910
MAF .908

So in the last 10 years teams that have won have received upper echelon starting goaltending performances in 7 of those years. Only 3 teams have been able to overcome sub par playoff goaltending to win.

Goaltending is just like any other position, in order to win the cup your number one goalie will in most cases need to be performing at a very high level. Just as your skill forwards and defenseman will need to be performing at a high level.

All components firing at the same time are critical to winning. You don't want to have your goalie steal you a cup but you want him to perform well all the same.

Grubauer was the Caps number 1 goalie for the playoffs and got yanked. The Pens needed both Fleury and Murray,
so the last three cups needed more than one goalie. Heck the Hawks manged to win a cup with a awful goalie in Niemi. I honestly think goalies are over rated. I have seen everyone of Holtby's regular season and playoff games and this was his worst season yet they still won. I'm ok with the signing as long as we don't lose are depth. If next year I hear we couldn't keep Wheeler because of this contract it will set me off.

 

[objectiveposter]

Chevy should be banned from any future negotiations involving goaltenders. After the Pavs debacle you dont give a goalie a 6 year term unless they are an elite goalie like Price. Jets much better off over paying on a 3-4 year deal. Now that Helle has security how hungry will he be? Awful signing. 1 good year doesnt mean you deserve a 6 year deal.
What a joke. If Helle plays like he did last year this will be a good deal.....but way too much risk.
This has the potential to get real ugly. 4 years max. Chevy blew it.

 

[raideralex99]

I understand where you are coming from but the game has changed a great deal since the Hawks won the cup. It's a much faster, skilled game since the Hawks won. The key players from Hawks are still there and now they are on the bottom of the division.

The Hawks were in cap trouble ... the key players have aged ... there are lots of reasons for the Hawks downfall. When you are on top the only place is to go down. Look at the Capitals ... they won the cup with the weakest team in their last 5 years. One play ... if Crosby scores the Capitals don't make it to the ECF. This game is about luck too and I'm not talking about just bounces ... injuries and refs count too.

 

[surixon]

Grubauer was the Caps number 1 goalie for the playoffs and got yanked. The Pens needed both Fleury and Murray,
so the last three cups needed more than one goalie. Heck the Hawks manged to win a cup with a awful goalie in Niemi. I honestly think goalies are over rated. I have seen everyone of Holtby's regular season and playoff games and this was his worst season yet they still won. I'm ok with the signing as long as we don't lose are depth. If next year I hear we couldn't keep Wheeler because of this contract it will set me off.

Even with the Helle deal we are middle of the pack with regards to the amount of cap space we are allocating to goaltending and fall right around league average in terms of the amount of cash that we are spending on goalies. That is with three teams still needing to sign a backup:

Team	Cap hit	Rank
MTL	11,450,000	1
Bos	9,750,000	2
Col	9,233,333	3
Chi	9,000,000	4
NYR	8,500,000	5
CLB	8,325,000	6
Det	8,291,666	7
Florida	7,933,333	8
San Jose	7,650,000	9
Arz	7,516,667	10
Dal	7,416,666	11
NJ	7,250,000	12
Ott	7,150,000	13
NSH	7,000,000	14
Van	6,966,667	15
LA	6,825,000	16
WPG	6,816,667	17
Wash	6,750,000	18
Edm	6,704,167	19
Veg	6,400,000	20
St Louis	6,100,000	21
Tor	5,850,000	22
Car	5,650,000	23
Phi	5,250,000	24
Minn	4,983,333	25
NYI	4,833,333	26
Tampa	4,650,000	27
Ana	4,300,000	28
Pitts	4,250,000	29
Cal	4,250,000	30
Buf	3,500,000	31

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Helle's contract wont prevent us from keeping our good players at other positions. If need half a million to then you move an over priced depth piece like Chariot and replace him with a competent league minimum PB guy.