Hellebuyck

[JHouly]

So what do you see for him in the next 2-3-4 years?

I mean this season has been bad for him.

How this season will affect his confidence and the rest of his career.

We've seen lots of good prospects drop with bad starts of career.

He is supposed to be one of my keeper at the end of this season but I'm a little nervous seeing how he's performed lately...

[LEAFS225]

I would like to give him a couple of more years before giving up on him. Despite having some very bad games this year he still has a winning record on a losing team.

I'd like to see Trouba and Myers get a full year under they're belts and I think that could make a big difference. Also waiting on Paul Maurice to get axed, I'm thinking he will next year during the season when they struggle again.

So maybe next year he improves a bit but I think you see some big progress towards the end of next season. If not then I would re-evaluate.

[Axeman33]

As I have said many times, he's a young goalie who should still be in the AHL IMO but the Jets want to bring him along at their own pace in the NHL. That's their choice. Most young goalies don't start to hit their stride until they are 25-26 years of age at best. Some take longer. Hard to say where Hellebuyck fits in there.

The fact that the Jets do not have a great defensive system doesn't help Hellebuyck. Until that improves, Hellebuyck will be a hit and miss goalie IMO. Thankfully the Jets still have a couple seasons to work on that. They still consider themselves a rebuilding team anyway so it's not like they are too worried about it right now.

The skill for Hellebuyck is there but the team isn't there yet. Patience is required with ANY young goalie. Just don't expect great things early on.

[BreadManPanarin]

I'm hoping that next year he can get back up to at least a .915 save% with ~50 starts. All he needs to do to convince me to stick with him going forward is produce like an average goalie. If he can do that for the next couple of seasons then I'll remain patient in hopes that he can eventually kick it up a notch and be an elite goalie. However, if he has another sub .910 season next year then I will start shopping him to see if I can find anybody more patient than I am who is willing to give up something of value. My rebuilding team made the playoffs this year, and next year I will be contending. Can't continue to waste a spot in the crease on a goalie who will lose you more weeks than win them for you. Luckily in my league I could probably flip him to a rebuilding team for a high keeper salary goalie like Lundqvist, Rinne, or Rask as a one year rental if it comes to that.

[StuntMan12]

hopefully they can get a more experienced goalie for next season so Hellebuyck won't have so much responsibility. Thought this was going to be a big year for him and picked him in my 1 year pts league. Was very frustrating the other night when Winnipeg was up 4-0 then they ended up losing 5 or 6-4..forget who they were playing tho lol.

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there were growing pains even with the likes of Carey Price so I try and be patient with him.

[reeveta]

Hard to know what management is planning but if I were them, I would try to pick up another goalie to compete with Hellebuyck for the starting job. I am sure they could get Halak for nothing or they could try to grab one of the UFAs like Elliot, Mason, Johnson, Darling, etc. on a shorter term 'show me' deal. Not sure if most of those guys will take a short term deal but some goalies with potential are going to be forced to settles as there are not enough jobs to go around. Either way, I find it hard to imagine a situation where Hellebuyck is anointed the #1 out of camp.

[BreadManPanarin]

Hard to know what management is planning but if I were them, I would try to pick up another goalie to compete with Hellebuyck for the starting job. I am sure they could get Halak for nothing or they could try to grab one of the UFAs like Elliot, Mason, Johnson, Darling, etc. on a shorter term 'show me' deal. Not sure if most of those guys will take a short term deal but some goalies with potential are going to be forced to settles as there are not enough jobs to go around. Either way, I find it hard to imagine a situation where Hellebuyck is anointed the #1 out of camp.

I'd even hold him if he could put up .915+ save % in a back up role with ~30 games, to be honest. As long as the guy he is behind is clearly a stop gap type of guy. If they sign a clear starter to a multi year deal then I'm cutting bait.

[Axeman33]

Anyone who trades him away in a keeper league is foolish and will kick themselves in the arse in a few years. He's a young goalie and will have his ups and downs. Expect it to happen for a couple more seasons. That's the gamble with young goalies.

People in fantasy leagues are so damn afraid to own players at the 30 year old + mark but those are the goalies who are going to be winning for you. Goalies take longer to develop and normally are the ones who last longer in the NHL.

If you are focusing on owning a young goalie in the league, be prepared to have inconsistency in your fantasy goalie stats. It comes with the territory.

[BreadManPanarin]

Anyone who trades him away in a keeper league is foolish and will kick themselves in the arse in a few years.

Sigh.... the balancing act between trying to win now and trying to win in the future is an exhausting one.

With Bishop, Vasilevskiy and Hellebuyck as my goalies I have put up a ~3.1 GAA and slightly <.90 save% ON THE SEASON. Quite obviously last place in my league in both stats. With a stable of skaters that is poised to challenge for first place in goals, assists, SOG and STP next year I'm not really sure what is the best way to try to ensure competitive goalie stats to support those skaters. Depends a lot on where Bishop ends up I guess.

Obviously mismanagement of goalie starts was part of the problem this year, as none of those 3 guys are >3.0 GAA or under .90 save % on their own. With each of them it feels like any given start is a dice roll that could end in a shutout or 1 GA game, or could be a 4 or 5 GA game.

[StuntMan12]

Budaj would be a good fit for Winnipeg imo. Always thought he was too good to be toiling in the minors. Sign him to a 2 year contract and give a little shade to Hellebuyck

[JHouly]

Thanks for your input. I'm in a position to win this year but I will be in rebuild mode next season.

So I can be patient with him.

I am just curious to see what a bad season like this one can do on his confidence in the long run.

[havanablast21]

Anyone who trades him away in a keeper league is foolish and will kick themselves in the arse in a few years. He's a young goalie and will have his ups and downs. Expect it to happen for a couple more seasons. That's the gamble with young goalies.

People in fantasy leagues are so damn afraid to own players at the 30 year old + mark but those are the goalies who are going to be winning for you. Goalies take longer to develop and normally are the ones who last longer in the NHL.

If you are focusing on owning a young goalie in the league, be prepared to have inconsistency in your fantasy goalie stats. It comes with the territory.

Full keeper? Yes. Definitely not wise to move him. However, in a limited keeper, such as mine in sig below, 12 teams keep 2... maybe 3 tenders (soon to change), I decided to cash in on him and move on with established Crawford and Jones. For me, it all depends on the team. I have a 2 time defending championship team and am in a hot 2 team race for 1st again this year. I don't have space or time to wait on Hellebuyck while I'm trying to win now. So I moved him to a bottom feeder team for a 1st round pick to bolster my draft this year. By the time I need to consider replacing Jones or Crawford, the next young group of Tenders will be ready to take the spot light.

To me, if you're building your team at the moment with no aspirations for a Title this year (or next) then by all means, invest in young Hellboy. But for me and for my team, it was better for me to move on and avoid the bad starts which no doubt have hurt my final chances.

[pmorrow]

I think the Jets will be patient with him and add another good goalie who can potentially take most of the starts if need be, sort of like an Allen-Elliott situation. I doubt they make any decision on his future with the team in the next 3-4 years judging by how much they like to hold onto goalies who have played far worse than him.

[Axeman33]

Full keeper? Yes. Definitely not wise to move him. However, in a limited keeper, such as mine in sig below, 12 teams keep 2... maybe 3 tenders (soon to change), I decided to cash in on him and move on with established Crawford and Jones. For me, it all depends on the team. I have a 2 time defending championship team and am in a hot 2 team race for 1st again this year. I don't have space or time to wait on Hellebuyck while I'm trying to win now. So I moved him to a bottom feeder team for a 1st round pick to bolster my draft this year. By the time I need to consider replacing Jones or Crawford, the next young group of Tenders will be ready to take the spot light.

To me, if you're building your team at the moment with no aspirations for a Title this year (or next) then by all means, invest in young Hellboy. But for me and for my team, it was better for me to move on and avoid the bad starts which no doubt have hurt my final chances.

Well ya, in cases like that, it makes sense to drop him/move him. I was referring to a full keeper.

[BreadManPanarin]

Well ya, in cases like that, it makes sense to drop him/move him. I was referring to a full keeper.

In my full keeper I have:
Ben Bishop (6% of salary cap)
Andrei Vasilevskiy (1% of salary cap)
Steve Mason (1% of salary cap)
Connor Hellebuyck (1% of salary cap)

I will definitely be in contention next year and I can only legitimize keeping 3 goalies. Based on his recent good run of play I am toying with the idea of keeping Mason over Hellebuyck.

It is a very difficult choice, and one that I won't be able to make until shortly before the draft I think. I need to wait and see where Bishop and Mason end up, as well as see if the Jets add another goalie that could put Hellebuyck in a back seat role.