Connor Hellebuyck’s presser on Tuesday in his return to Winnipeg turned out to be a black eye moment for the Winnipeg Jets, even if some in the media aren’t totally buying it.
The much-anticipated Hellebuyck presser promised to be an opportunity in which Jets fans and the local media would get answers on the entire situation. If anything, the New Jersey Devils goalie shed some light on the situation.
And it was those answers that turned into a black eye moment for the organization, whether it actually deserved the scrutiny or not.
During his press conference, Connor Hellebuyck made it clear that his trade request wasn’t about hockey. It was about what his family had to deal with away from the rink.
“There was some moments and some things that happened to my family that for me crossed the line, and as a husband and a father, I felt made that decision very certain.”
Connor Hellebuyck explained that some things his family experienced while in Winnipeg “crossed the line” and made his decision to request a trade “very certain”.
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That’s about as rough as it gets. And make no mistake, it’s a bad look for the Jets organization.
Whether he intended it or not, the statement carries an accusatory tone. It points a finger at the city of Winnipeg itself. A franchise goalie, a former Vezina winner, saying he no longer felt safe is the kind of headline an organization never wants.
So, where does that leave the Jets?
Reporting Suggests the Jets Were in the Dark
Here’s where it gets complicated. Third-party reporting paints a very different picture of what the Jets actually knew.
Frank Seravalli made it clear in his reporting that the Jets had no knowledge of the situation up to the public trade request this summer. That bit of reporting is confounding and casts Connor Hellebuyck’s admissions into question.
All right, so a couple of things here. First, the Jets reportedly acted when they were told about the online threats. Second, the more serious allegations apparently didn’t reach the team until late in the summer, with training camp right around the corner.
The timeline is what makes things interesting. If the situation was so bad, why didn’t Connor Hellebuyck take up the situation with the team or even law enforcement? Perhaps there was an effort to keep everything quiet to respect privacy.
But if that were the case, the reporting would confirm to some extent that the organization knew about the situation when it happened.
And if it did, and didn’t do anything about it, well, that would be a damning situation for the Jets, to say the least.
It’s Connor Hellebuyck’s Word Against the Organization’s
Based on the reporting, the Jets didn’t have any real knowledge of what Connor Hellebuyck says his family went through. But that doesn’t settle anything.
At this point, it’s essentially Hellebuyck’s word against whatever the Jets might say in reply, if they reply at all. And it’s hard to see a clean way out for the team. Pushing back too hard against a player who says his family was threatened is not exactly a winning approach.
Is the team being painted in an unfair light? Maybe. Is the city of Winnipeg taking more heat than it deserves? Possibly. The vast majority of that fan base had nothing to do with any of this.
But the optics are not good, nonetheless.
Perception is a major thing in pro sports, and right now the perception is that a star goalie felt he had to leave. The Jets will have to decide how, or whether, they respond. Until then, the Connor Hellebuyck saga is going to keep following them around.
Connor Hellebuyck Presser a Black Eye Moment Jets