Special year for Hellebuyck

Connor Hellebuyck had a season to remember in 2024-25, and his work was recognized with a second consecutive William Jennings Trophy at the end of the regular season.

But there was far more to come, and on Thursday, he completed his hat trick of honours.

Not only did the 32-year-old win his third Vezina Trophy (and second in a row), but he also became the first goaltender to win the Hart Trophy as the National Hockey League’s most valuable player since Carey Price in 2014-15.

“It means a lot. It's one of those things that doesn't get swung towards the goalies too often, so any time that a goalie kind of gets a sniff at it, you take notice. You kind of look at the special things that occurred along the way to get there and looking back in the year, it was just such a fun year,” said Hellebuyck.

“We had so much positivity around the locker room, and everyone was just kind of living in the moment and enjoying the year and with team success, individual success comes and just to get one of these is pretty special in my world.”

Hellebuyck edged out Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov for the Hart. By earning his third career Vezina Trophy, he also became the first American born goaltender to accomplish that feat. t

It’s not every day that you go out fishing and, on your way back, discover that you have won two individual awards, but that’s exactly what happened to Hellebuyck.

“My agent (Ray Petkau) came into town and tricked me and said he wanted to go fishing, and we just talked about it before I left. So, I took him out fishing and then I was trying to help him catch a fish, and the whole time he was just keeping his mouth shut, not that he didn't want to fish, but really, he was just out there to distract me,” said Hellebuyck.

“I was coming in towards my dock from the water to get my son to go out because that was their excuse to get me to come back off the water. And as I was coming in, I saw the camera guy out there and I was really confused and really surprised so it was really cool experience.”

The Commerce, Michigan product was surprised by his wife Andrea, his kids, both his parents, his two brothers, his sister, a couple of buddies and Jets goaltender Eric Comrie made a surprise appearance along with the two trophies.

“Just to have all those people there meant a lot to me and just the fashion that it all happened was really cool. I was just very surprised because everyone did a very good job of keeping that hidden,” said Hellebuyck.

“Just coming in and getting to spend the day at my house with the trophies was really cool as well, because most of these trophies aren't usually given to you for a day and you get to experience them for a little bit. You usually get a picture with them, and you buzz off. So having it at my house is really cool.”

From the start of the season, Hellebuyck looked like he was destined to add that third Vezina, helping the Jets to a 15-1 start. He finished the campaign with 47 wins, eight shutouts, a 2.00 goals against average and a 0.925 save percentage, helping the Jets win the Central Division title and Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in franchise history. One could argue that his first Vezina Trophy (in 2020) was his most impressive campaign but statistically, this season was his best.

“When you include the shot totals are down a lot this year because they're reviewing every single shot that .925, realistically compared to history is probably more like a .935,” said Hellebuyck.

“This was probably the easiest year that I had of just going with the flow and the guys in front of me were playing incredible and just feeling my rhythm all year long. I never had any real ups and downs.”

Back in February, Hellebuyck returned to international hockey at the 4 Nations Face-Off and almost backstopped the Americans to victory, but they lost to Connor McDavid and Canada in overtime in the championship game. US teammate Dylan Larkin said after the game that setback would make Hellebuyck stronger.

“I understand what the Olympics are going to kind of look like and the big games, how they're going to feel and the intensity that's going to come. Granted that was just a little tournament and the Olympics is probably even a step above that,” said Hellebuyck.

“But just getting your feet wet at that kind of knowing what to expect, it's very crucial experiences that are gonna help us succeed in the future and, you know, just battles ups and downs of a mid-season tournament.”

Hellebuyck and the Jets fought their way through a tough, grinding seven-game series with the St. Louis Blues and advanced past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2021. Eventually they were eliminated by the Dallas Stars in six games. Teammate Mark Scheifele lost his father on the morning of Game 6, but the team rallied around Scheifele and almost forced a seventh game back in Winnipeg losing 2-1 in overtime. Hellebuyck believes that day pulled the team closer together.

“We had the battle adversity there and we weren't able to prevail for him (Scheifele), and all our hearts are with him and his family. But I think if there's anything good to come from it, it's the fact that if you come to Winnipeg, you're part of a family,” said Hellebuyck.

“You're not just going to the business side, you're not just going to play hockey, you're going to really connect with a group of people and a fan base that's really there for you every step of the way.”

Hellebuyck would know all about the support from the fan base in the Manitoba capital. The Jets goaltender struggled in all three road games in St. Louis but when the team came home for games five and seven, the MVP chants before each contest got louder and louder. Now that Hellebuyck is officially the MVP, he had this to say to Jets fans.

“Thank you for the for the support and couldn't do without you guys and I hope that there's more to come and we can continue to celebrate things together and hopefully hoist that Cup in the near future,” said Hellebuyck.

“Hopefully, I can bring the (Hart) Trophy and let the all the fans experience it with me and get a couple of pictures with the trophy like they did last year.”

Hellebuyck was named to the First All-Star Team for the third time in his career, joining him was teammate Kyle Connor who is making his postseason All-Star Team debut.