Winnipeg Jets star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will undergo a minor arthroscopic knee procedure and be sidelined for four to six weeks, head coach Scott Arniel announced on Friday.
Eric Comrie will replace the reigning Hart Trophy winner and three-time Vezina Trophy recipient as the No. 1 netminder for the Jets, who recalled goaltender Thomas Milic from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
“We’re talking 4-6 weeks so I’m not sure, but I don’t think Eric can go all those games so (Milic is) going to have to play,” Arniel said. “At the end of the day, it’s next man up. It really is. We’re not replacing Connor.”
Said Jets captain Adam Lowry: “To put it plainly, it (stinks). You lose the Hart Trophy winner, the Vezina winner, the best goalie in the world for an extended period of time, so it’s tough news. … We have all the confidence in the word what Eric can do, what ‘Milly’ can do.”
Hellebuyck, 32, is 8-6-0 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage this season.
He recorded 31 saves in his most recent appearance, a 3-3 shootout win at Calgary last Saturday.
The four-time All-Star is in his 11th season with the Jets and is 330-191-44 with 45 shutouts, a 2.56 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 582 games. His career save percentage is the highest among active players.
“Obviously, he’s, what is it, 10 years, he’s been pretty healthy,” Arniel said of Hellebuyck. “And this has kind of been nagging on him here since training camp. It’s something we’ve kind of known about, he was trying to play through it, would be good days, bad days, just something that, timing’s right, get it done now.
“A lot of schedule ahead of us, so that was really just the thinking. Sat down, talked to him, obviously the medical staff, everybody, agent. This was the time to do it.”
Hellebuyck won his second straight and third career Vezina Trophy (also 2019-20) and his second straight Jennings Trophy last season. He won the 2024-25 Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player after finishing 47-12-3 with eight shutouts, a 2.00 GAA and a .925 save percentage.
Winnipeg drafted Hellebuyck in the fifth round in 2012. He is 24-34 in the playoffs with five shutouts, a 2.90 GAA and a .903 save percentage.
Comrie, 30, is 4-1-0 this season with a 2.60 GAA and .908 save percentage.
–Field Level Media
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