Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was blunt in his assessment of his own future in his end-of-season media availability on Saturday.
Hellebuyck, who is set to turn 30 in May, flatly rejected the prospect of playing for a rebuilding team and expressed his desire to play for a contender.
“I’m not interested in a rebuild. I just want to compete,” Hellebuyck said. “I enjoyed myself more in five [playoff] games than I did all year. It’s like a high you’ve got to chase. You can’t replicate that anywhere else except in the playoffs.
“My main goal is to win a Stanley Cup and I’m starting to run out of time.”
Hellebuyck posted a 37-25-2 record and a .920 save percentage in 64 games with the Jets during the 2022-23 regular season. The Commerce, Michigan, product is under contract at a $6.167 million cap hit through the end of the 2023-24 season, at which point he’ll be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.
In five 2023 Stanley Cup playoff games with the Jets, Hellebuyck allowed 18 goals and recorded an .886 save percentage. The Jets fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the first round.
Shortly after their lopsided Game 5 loss to the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena, Jets head coach Rick Bowness ripped his team for its lack of “pushback” and said his star players were vastly outplayed by their Vegas counterparts.
Sitting alongside Hellebuyck on Saturday, Jets forward Blake Wheeler — stripped of the team captaincy by Bowness before the start of the 2022-23 season — said he took exception with how Bowness conducted himself in his postgame interview.
“I thought [Bowness] had an opportunity to address us as a team. He could’ve been honest with us, handled it behind closed doors,” Wheeler said. “I didn’t like how he handled himself after the game.”
Like Hellebuyck, Wheeler is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024. The Jets narrowly qualified for the playoffs in 2023 after finishing fourth in the Central Division with a 46-33-3 record and 95 points in 82 games.
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