Report: Connor Hellebuyck will be playing tonight in season opener

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Finnegan Frost
October 9, 2024 (1:46 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers face-off against the Winnipeg Jets for their season opener tonight, but the task will be a difficult one.

It was recently reported that Connor Hellebuyck missed that last few days of training camp due to personal reasons, but the Athletics Murat Ates has now confirmed Connor Hellebuyck will be the starting goalie for the Jets tonight.

The Winnipeg Jets have always been a top contender in the central division, but have taken a beatdown over the course of the NHL offseason. Elite UFA's such as Brenden Dillon, Sean Monahan, and Tyler Toffoli has all walked away from the organization, leaving the Jets with a shrunken top 6.

In addition to their lost talent, former backup goaltender Laurent Broissoit also signed with the Chicago Blackhawks during the offseason, leaving Connor Hellebyuck without a true designated backup. With that in mind, the Winnipeg Jets are still a formidable team. Players like Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Kyle Connor have left the Jets core intact, with the most important piece remaining between the pipes - Connor Hellebuyck.

Among active goaltenders, Hellebuyck sits 8th all-time for career wins, with a total of 275. Hellebuyck's career save percentage is .917%, which is well-above the league average. Hellebuyck is also on pace to become the American goalie with the most career wins all-time.

All of this is to say that Hellebuyck deserves his respect as the current greatest Jets goalie of all-time. The big 300th career win should happen sometime around January or February 2025, all depending on how the Jets upcoming season unfolds. If things go well for the Jets tonight, Connor Hellebuyck will be one win closer to that impressive milestone.

Connor McDavid and the rest of the Oilers troops have their work cut out for them tonight. Although the Oilers have been named Stanley Cup favourites for the 2024-25 season, they will need to get past Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets to get started off on the right foot.