Scheifele, Hellebuyck excited to be Jets for life By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 2:33 PM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/10/2023 (1092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Let’s get the most important question out of the way right off the hop: Who buys the first Winnipeg Jets team dinner of the year, Mark Scheifele or Connor Hellebuyck?

“I haven’t really thought too much about that,” Hellebuyck told the Free Press with a smirk. “I’m sure we’ll treat the boys to something nice.”

Neither has an excuse to haggle over the cheque anytime soon after coming to terms on seven-year contract extensions that carry cap hits of US$8.5 million. The deals were officially signed Tuesday afternoon at a news conference held at the Hockey For All Centre.

“There is nothing I want more than to win the Stanley Cup for the Winnipeg Jets,” said Scheifele, 30, the first-ever Jets 2.0 draft pick who is likely to hold a litany of franchise records by the time he calls it quits.

Turns out there’s no place like home, and both players said any thoughts of exploring whether the grass might be greener elsewhere quickly vanished once the Jets made it clear the NHL team wanted both to remain long-term — and would do everything possible to build a championship-calibre club around them.

“I’m ready to be a Jet for life and bring a Cup to this city because I truly believe we can get it done here,” said Hellebuyck, 30, the three-time Vezina Trophy finalist and one-time winner.

News of their simultaneous re-signings sent shockwaves through the NHL. Hellebuyck and Scheifele were entering the final year of their respective contracts and could have tested the free-agent waters next summer. That had fuelled plenty of trade rumours and speculation about their future.

Instead, a franchise-altering US $119 million (combined) blockbuster that seemingly came out of nowhere and charts a clear course for the Jets — not only for this season, but years to come.

“I think it’s a fantastic day for our franchise, the city of Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba and all of Jets Nation,” head coach Rick Bowness said of locking up both the No. 1 netminder and No. 1 centre in one fell swoop.

“I think it’s a fantastic day for our franchise, the city of Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba and all of Jets Nation.”–Head coach Rick Bowness

“You’re looking at two world-class athletes that if they had wanted they could have waited until July 1 and pretty much gone to where they wanted. But they chose to stay here with our franchise and help us win.”

Winnipeg has just three playoff series victories since the NHL returned in 2011 — two in the 2017-18 season, and one during the truncated 2021 campaign. Scheifele said a series of off-season heart-to-heart chats about the long-term vision with general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff set the stage for the signings.

“We had a lot of great conversations and I applaud Chevy for conversing with me and Helly and giving us an idea of what they see — what they see in us and what they see in the organization and also giving us the chance to let us know what we see as players,” he said.

Other factors included knowing how much his former junior coach, Dale Hawerchuk, meant to Winnipeg, and knowing his hockey idol, Steve Yzerman, played his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings.

“Those two guys in particular weighed on my thinking a lot,” said Scheifele. “To see Dale being a Jet was a big one. It’s a tremendous honour, I’ll never be Dale Hawerchuk, but to know he’s up there watching down on all of us and knowing that I’ll be a lifetime Jet is pretty phenomenal and it gives me the chills. I’m very honoured and very excited.”

Last but not least, was knowing Hellebuyck was leaning in the same direction.

“He’s a really big reason why I decided to stay,” said Scheifele, who had a career-high 42 goals last season but has also came under criticism from Bowness, at times, about his lack of defensive acumen.

Scheifele was entering the last season of an eight-year deal he signed in 2016 that paid him US $6.125 million per year. The Ontario product, selected seventh-overall in 2011, has played 723 regular-season games with Winnipeg, with 645 points (272 goals, 373 assists). He also has 32 points (19 goals, 13 assists) in 37 career playoff games.

“Our goal is to win and obviously this is a big step,” he said.

“I have such tremendous friends that are friends for life who are in that locker room. We want to win a Cup in Winnipeg and there’d be nothing more special than doing that. We know it takes a lot of hard work, but we have a lot of hard workers in that room. We have a lot of guys that eat, sleep and breathe Winnipeg Jet hockey and that’s all we want to do.”

Hellebuyck was in the final season of a six-year deal he signed in 2018 that paid him US $6.166 million per year. The Michigan native, selected in the fifth round in 2013, has appeared in 445 games with the Jets, with a record of 238-154-37 along with a 2.66 goals-against-average and .916 save percentage.

“I couldn’t wish for a better player to be linked with,” said Hellebuyck, who will the fourth highest-paid goaltender in the league once the extension kicks in.

“I think we’re going to really set a really good model for the next generation coming up. Hopefully, the fans can see that we care about being here and we love being here and we’re together on this.”

Cheveldayoff called these contract negotiations “unique,” saying there was plenty of transparency and trust given the number of moving parts — including dealing with two players and two different agents at the same time.

One common theme prevailed.

“Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup. They firmly believe that we can do it and they’re obviously going to be two very huge parts of doing that.”–GM Kevin Cheveldayoff

“Both of these individuals have a unique desire to win and both of these players want to win with the teammates they have here. That was music to my ears and music to everyone in the organization,” said Cheveldayoff.

“Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup. They firmly believe that we can do it and they’re obviously going to be two very huge parts of doing that. It’s a fantastic day for all… their teammates are thrilled, the coaching staff is thrilled and management is thrilled and I know it’s a great day for our fan base.”

With the salary cap set to rise sharply beginning next season, the Jets should have enough financial flexibility to keep adding to the existing core.

Hellebuyck admittedly may have left some money on the table had he opted to go to free agency next July 1 and create a bidding war. Ultimately, that’s a road he didn’t want to go down.

“I think you’re going to see both of them have outstanding years, which is great news for our franchise.”–Rick Bowness

“Do you really want to chase the money, or do you want to chase a Cup? There’s a lot of risks that go into playing a season and hitting the free market, you just never know what the cap’s going to be, you never know what the needs are going to be around the league,” said Hellebuyck.

“You just try to gather as much information as you can so you can make the best decision that you can. That being said, I think our contracts are good enough to keep a good team around us.”

Naturally, there will be some concern about how these contracts might age, considering both players will be 38 by the time they expire. The Jets bought former captain Blake Wheeler out of the final year of his deal this past summer, one that carried a team-high US $8.25 million.

That’s a worry for another time, especially if all parties can achieve their ultimate goal.

“They’re in the prime of their careers, said Bowness.

“The end of those contracts, they’ll take care of themselves. The only thing that matters is what’s going to happen now and in the short-term, they’re in the prime of their careers. I think you’re going to see both of them have outstanding years, which is great news for our franchise.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg