Confirmed Signing with Link: [WPG] G Connor Hellebuyck signs extension with the Jets (7 years, $8.5M)

[lomiller1]

Winnipeg gets a bum rap. Sure it's not Miami but no Canadian cities are. It's tough to attract players in ANY Canadian market when the team isn't in contention. I do disagree with your statement that crime isn't an issue in Winnipeg. It most definitely is.

Winnipeg crime rates fall into the range of a typical US city, but crime rates for Canadian cities can be a little misleading to begin with.

Crime in Canada occurs disproportionately within fist nations peoples as part of the many social issues these people experience. If you are part of such a community you experience high crime rates no matter what city you are in and if you are not you experience much lower crime rates no matter what city you are in. In cities with large first nations populations like Winnipeg or Edmonton with larger first nations populations this skews the overall crime rate higher when compared to cites with lower relative first nations populations.

The core social problems afflicting first nations peoples are common across all of Canada they are just more visible in cities like Regina Winnipeg or Edmonton, whereas they are essentially invisible and ignored in cities like Toronto.

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Did not expect people to hate this contract so much, the jets go as far as helle will take them

The main boards are unfortunately full of people with 10 cents worth of knowledge about most franchises other than their own. Leads to some really bad takes. Every trade and UFA thread is full of them.

This is the contract I would expect him to get anywhere else next year. Perhaps even less.

 

[LeafGrief]

Hellebuyck is as good of a goalie as you'll find in the league, but there are pretty much no circumstances where locking a player up through their late 30's to big money is an objectively good decision. It might be objectively better than letting the player walk, but only time will tell. This contract will either age okay or it will age badly. Likely a little of column a, a little of column b as time marches on.

Good luck to the Jets and Hellebuyck.

 

[lomiller1]

Bundle up and they'll be fine.

Pierogi, Kobasa, Winnipeg Rye Bread, Bridge Drive-In milkshakes, cottage country, cold winters and warm summers.

In short, don't sell Winnipeg short (except for the mosquitoes, etc.). The city is just as attractive as any other city as each has its won charms.

Cold dry winters. Dry conditions, even at a lower temperature, are much friendlier to outdoor activity than the wet cold conditions you'd get in Southern Ontario, Quebec or US Northeast.

Also lots of sun compared to the gloomy dampness of Vancouver or even Southern Ontario.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Did not expect people to hate this contract so much, the jets go as far as helle will take them

We hate it because it's really bad

 

[Channelcat]

This just shows how out of touch the hockey media is. Chevy had stated he wanted to sign both long term and both players had said very little other than that they hadn't asked to be traded and they wanted to win.

I'm not surprised by these deals.

 

[Double Dion]

Winnipeg crime rates fall into the range of a typical US city, but crime rates for Canadian cities can be a little misleading to begin with.

Crime in Canada occurs disproportionately within fist nations peoples as part of the many social issues these people experience. If you are part of such a community you experience high crime rates no matter what city you are in and if you are not you experience much lower crime rates no matter what city you are in. In cities with large first nations populations like Winnipeg or Edmonton with larger first nations populations this skews the overall crime rate higher when compared to cites with lower relative first nations populations.

The core social problems afflicting first nations peoples are common across all of Canada they are just more visible in cities like Regina Winnipeg or Edmonton, whereas they are essentially invisible and ignored in cities like Toronto.

This is correct. I was just saying crime rates are high comparatively to other Canadian cities. You're right about the reasons, but someone said Winnipeg had a low crime rate and you could send your kid to 7/11 at night anywhere in the city. This is not correct.

Depending on the part of town every city has a crime problem.

Calgary and Ottawa for example have 60% or less crime overall. As I said, Winnipeg gets a bum rap, but saying it has a low crime rate is just factually false.

 

[lomiller1]

This is correct. I was just saying crime rates are high comparatively to other Canadian cities. You're right about the reasons, but someone said Winnipeg had a low crime rate and you could send your kid to 7/11 at night anywhere in the city. This is not correct.

Is there any city in North America that doesn't have some areas where you can't send your kids out alone at night?

 

[japhi]

I like both these signings, this is a pretty good Jets team and to throw that out and rebuild could send the team in 8-15 years of purgatory. Look at Buffalo, Edmonton forever, how far away Detroit is. While I understand how rich ownership is, pretty tough for a small market team to go a decade of rebuilding, which would have been a distinct possibility. And at the end of the rebuild, you probably have a team as good as the players they have today.

So you keep a playoff team together and hope your top 3 goalie can go on a tear. And your fans get to watch some pretty good hockey. Seems like a smart way to play this hand.

 

[My3Sons]

I did enjoy the thread.

NJ fans glad they didn’t sign Hellebuyck. We will see how they feel when ole .825 Sv% steps into the crease come playoff time.

Comparing Hellebuyck‘s career trajectory to that of the average goaltender.

Comparing Hellebyuck to Quick. Like no one has ever seen these two play and how different they are. You could get a 30minute highlight reel of Quick making amazing post to post splits saves. Hellebuycks highlight reel of those type of body abusing saves wouldn’t last a minute.

Comparing Hellebuyck to Price. Price who got a 14% cap hit? Price who has a serious injury just a season before Signing the contract? Price who was known to have some very concerning mental health problems?

What are we doing here? lol

Im not saying Hellebyuck will be a Vezina winner at 35. But I think the Jets can have a reasonably priced tandem of goaltenders for the last couple years as Hellebuyck ages out and hopefully the next in line ages in.

I think a large percentage of NJ fans would have gladly added him as a rental. I’m skeptical WPG was open to trading him at the rental price.

 

[Double Dion]

Is there any city in North America that doesn't have some areas where you can't send your kids out alone at night?

Again, not the point. The point was its factually incorrect that Winnipeg has a low crime rate. It has a much higher than average crime rate for Canada and a slightly higher than average crime rate for the US.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Winnipeg is big enough to not be a small town , but small enough that it's not a huge city. Aside from the downtown area, crime isn't an issue. Your kid can hop on their bike and go grab a slurpee without you having to worry. Not to mention that there's no fear about some kid toting a gun to school

Not sure if it's changed, but one of the biggest reasons we moved back was because the schools in the states all seemed to be teaching towards the standardized tests. Literacy rates for students graduating from the high school were appaling, and it had 3400 students mostly placed in modular trailers. Post-secondary education costs a fraction of what it does in the states.

Don't get me wrong, I love the states and will probably move back when my daughter graduates high-school in a few years. But I don't regret the choice we made to live here

Look, I'm a born-and-raised Winnipegger. I agree with everything you have to say EXCEPT the bolded.

It's perennially in the top ten for violent crime per capita in Canada (and my new home city of Edmonton does little better).

But yes - outstanding place to raise a family. Affordable homes, quality schools, AMAZING summers and lake country (I still miss cottage country in Manitoba).

 

[japhi]

I like Winnipeg. But the things that make it attractive, like affordable homes, cottages are not as attractive to rich athletes. Private schools, dining, flight in and out, weather, taxes would rank above the things you and I care about.

Had this back and forth with other Habs fans, they were adamant that it was an attractive place to play due to cheap university, cheap homes, good transit. Like come on fellas, these aren't middle management government workers.

Will always be incredibly hard to attract and retain players in any market no named Vancouver or Toronto. So locking down a top 1-3 goalie for 8.5, even if the term is a few years too long, is a huge win.

 

[Puckatron 3000]

Or maybe you're just being incredibly bias, because you're a Jets fan.

The locker room is over it's shit? When did they get over it? Majority of Jets fans blamed Kane for all these years, meanwhile it was your leadership group that was the main issue. Clearly you had no idea.

They are tight now? You know this how? Which locker-rooms in the NHL aren't tight according to you?

I live in Manitoba, I have my whole life.

I'm in the city on a frequent basis, I also have a lot of friends & family that live there.

If you think Winnipeg is a great place to raise a family, every other city that has an NHL team is great in that sense as well.

If you seriously believe Winnipeg isn't one of the least desirable places to play in the NHL, you're lying to yourself.

I honestly don’t think you've spent much time outside of Winnipeg.

I'm confused by this post.

You say you've lived in Manitoba your whole life, but you're accusing someone who likes Winnipeg for not having spent much time outside of Winnipeg? So your experience in small town Manitoba gives you some kind of worldly experience about other NHL destinations?

You talk about the leadership being an issue, in response to how our locker room has changed, as if our leadership hasn't radically changed of late. Including replacing the captain for a beloved, leave-it-all-on-the-ice, blue collar grinder of a player in Adam Lowry. And replacing the coach who perhaps was a little too much of a "player's coach" to the former leaders. (No disrespect to Maurice, he did a lot for the team.) Funny basis to tell someone else "clearly you have no idea".

Winnipeg is absolutely a great place to raise a family, relative to other NHL cities.

I have lived in other major cities in Canada, the States, and overseas. Absolutely Winnipeg can be a hard sell, particularly to someone experiencing their first winter here. But like the poster you're responding to, I chose to come back and live here when I had the chance (due to opportunities to work from home as a result of the pandemic). It's a love / hate relationship with any city, but there's a lot to love about Winnipeg.

 

[Lions67]

Its hit and miss with goalies. It feels to me like there are less and less goalies going into their late 30s.

I'll just use the rich 2005 crop as an example.

Price is done
Rask is done
Quick is a shell
Bishop is done

These guys are around 36 years of age now.

You never know. Jets are GREAT at developing their prospects. Contract kicks in next year at age 31, so using your model, the Jets have 5 years to play with. I can see a trade with good return in year 3 or 4 of this contract. I can also see him fulfilling the term.
I won’t lie though. I do not like paying goalies that much money with that much term. I immediately go to Garth Snow and Roberto Luongo.

 

[ItWasJustified]

Well maybe it’s not always about the player. Their girlfriend/wife/family has to live in Winnipeg all season.

Just another reason to stay single during your NHL career.

 

[JianYang]

You never know. Jets are GREAT at developing their prospects. Contract kicks in next year at age 31, so using your model, the Jets have 5 years to play with. I can see a trade with good return in year 3 or 4 of this contract. I can also see him fulfilling the term.
I won’t lie though. I do not like paying goalies that much money with that much term. I immediately go to Garth Snow and Roberto Luongo.

The intention for me was not really to use a model. It was just to show that t it's very difficult for vast majority of goalies to get even close to 40 years of age, let alone play at a high level at that time.

Truth be told, the guys on my list have been finished for at least a couple years if not more with the possible exception of quick.

 

[kylbaz]

We hate it because it's really bad

The opinion of Montreal fans is at the top of my list

 

[Goose]

It depends on what you mean by "worked out". Very few contracts for star players end up being "worth it" in their later years. The Jets are thinking about how these contracts suit them in the next 3-5 seasons (including stability this season), and are willing to deal with inefficiencies with these contracts in the final couple of seasons.

When players like Jack Hughes and Hischier are due for their next contracts at ages 28 and 29, the Devils will have to decide whether to overpay them for too long, or to let them go, too.

Yeah, I understand the last few years are dead years, but how many teams would do these goalie signings again if they could rewind time?

Lundqvist is one of the only ones I can think of.

Fair point though.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

There is no reason to think Hellebuyck will still be any good at age 35.

That’s what you need to say.

Again, more goalies suck at age 35 or older. THE MOST.

Its $8.5M BECAUSE its EIGHT years.

well Im going to disagree and feel free to tag me when he's 35 as a told you so if he is bad

 

[Maple Leaf]

SIgn and trade?

 

[gojetsgo]

SIgn and trade?

obviously not...

 

[Junohockeyfan]

With the Helle and Sheif signings, it appears the Jets are preparing for 7 years of mediocrity!

 

[Arthur Morgan]

goalies like Helle arent cheap and on the open market he would get alot more.
Id be happy to pay Helle this.

Bad move by the Jets, but expected move by Chevy… he’s lost and looking for a lifeline.

worse than Helle walking for potentially nothing? or Jets selling for way too little?

 

[Heldig]

With the Helle and Sheif signings, it appears the Jets are preparing for 7 years of mediocrity!

How do you define mediocrity? Being an annual playoff contender that needs some luck to go deep in the playoffs (like about 10 teams every year)?

If they let them walk the Jets would be in lottery territory for the next few / several years.

The PLD trade made it clear they wanted to stay competitive now. These 2 signings cements it.

Now, if Vilardi can replace PLDs offense, Iafallo can add some 2 way smarts and hard compete to the lineup (Niederreiter too), and Perfetti can stay healthy and be a legit top 6 centre the Jets might even be dangerous in the playoffs.