Back up plan good for Comrie

Eric Comrie knew the day was coming. He wasn’t sure exactly when, but at some point Connor Hellebuyck was going to take a timeout on his season.

And so the Winnipeg Jets backup goaltender stayed ready, waiting for the moment when the pain got too much and the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy shut things down in order to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery.

“He was trying to play through it. He’s a tough guy,” Comrie said Saturday of Hellebuyck’s ailment, which first cropped up during training camp in September and was getting persistently worse over time

“He’s trying to give everything this team he could, give everything he can to the city.”

The decision was finally made last week, vaulting Comrie into the No. 1 spot for what is expected to be a four-to-six week recovery for Hellebuyck. The career backup is embracing his new lead role, even if it’s not off to a stellar start: A 4-3 loss on Friday night to the Carolina Hurricames was followed by a 3-0 setback on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Wild.

To be clear, nobody on the team is pointing the finger of blame in Comrie’s direction.

“At the end of the day, no matter who was in net we didn’t score,” defenceman Dylan DeMelo said after his team was blanked for the third time already this season.

Comrie is now 4-3-0 through seven starts this year with a 2.87 goals-against average and .899 save percentage. Hellebuyck was off to an 8-6-0 start in 14 games with a 2.51 GAA and .913 SV%

“Obviously, (Hellebuyck’s injury) takes a little bit of the wind out of your sails because you know the type of player he is and how good he is,” said DeMelo.

“He won the Hart Trophy as a goaltender. It is very unique how strong he is in that position. And I think it is a hole there, no doubt about it. That being said, it doesn’t mean that we can’t go out and win games. We are confident whoever is in the net that we can put out a good effort and play our game. No matter who is in the net it shouldn’t change how we play.”

Comrie, 30, has never made more than 20 appearances in a season but is likely to blow by that number by Christmas. He’s notorious for staying on the ice late after practice to work with players — that’s the usual role of an understudy — but may have to tinker his workload now that he’s going to be pressed into more duty than ever.

“There’s definitely some different load management things you have to do,” he said.

There’s also a different mentality of taking the net every other night, rather than waiting a week or longer between starts. You don’t have nearly as much time to agonize over every little mistake — such as giving up the first goal on the first shot of Friday’s game by Carolina’s Jordan Staal just 16 seconds into the opening period.

“Flats (goalie coach Wade Flaherty) goes ‘Oh man, first shot of the game, I was a little worried.’ Like, I’ve been scored on the first shot of the game many times before. And you know what? It’s going to happen again,” Comrie said, noting a younger version of himself likely wouldn’t have handled adversity quite as well.

“It’s just the way things happen in this game of hockey. I just go out there and play my game. I’m gonna go out there, put the best foot forward, work as hard as I can every single day and just try to achieve success. I’m going to lay it all out because I love these guys. I’m gonna do everything I can to win for these guys.”

The Jets know they need to be hyper-focused on their attention to defensive detail and systemic structure to help weather the storm of not having Hellebuyck around.

“I think it’s one of those things where we haven’t played great in front of him the times he has come in so I think that’s something that we can definitely rally around and be vocal about is going out and playing for Coms,” centre Jonathan Toews said Sunday.

Meanwhile, Hellebuyck’s injury has opened another door for Thomas Milic — the third-year pro who has been patiently working on his craft at both the ECHL and AHL levels since the Jets drafted him in the fifth round, 151st-overall, back in 2023.

The 22-year-old is, for now, the No. 2 man in the organizational pecking order. Unlike Comrie, he wasn’t aware the winds of change were going to start blowing with the big club.

“It was super special, right after our game the other night with the Moose, getting called into the coach’s office and hearing the news then,” said Milic. “It was a shock, but I am excited and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I am trying to stay grounded and enjoy every second.”

Making his NHL debut is no longer just the stuff of dreams. It’s very likely to happen, perhaps as soon as Saturday in Nashville when the Jets will be playing for a second straight night and Comrie will likely need a breather.

“Obviously, with a condensed schedule, it is a lot of games in a short amount of time. Comrie is going to hold down the fort, but I will be ready when I get my chance and I am just excited for it,” said Milic.

The British Columbia product is off to a terrific start to this season, with a 2.14 goals-against-average and .921 save percentage over nine games with the Moose. The former Western Hockey League goaltender of the year, who went to the Memorial Cup with the Seattle Thunderbirds in his final junior season, said he’s ready for the next big challenge.

“I’m just growing and maturing as a person and as a goaltender,” he said. “No matter what level I have been playing at the last couple of years, I have learned a lot.”

It’s also possible the Jets look for other avenues to fill the void left by Hellebuyck, whether it’s through the trade market, a waiver wire pickup or a free agent signing.

One potential option might be 35-year-old Michael Hutchinson, who has 154 career NHL games on his resume, 99 of those with the Jets between 2013-2017. He’s currently living in Winnipeg after spending last season playing in Finland and even filled in during last Monday’s practice with Hellebuyck taking a rest day.

It’s also worth noting that Winnipegger Chris Driedger and Chelyabinsk Traktor of the Kontinental Hockey League agreed Sunday to mutually terminate his contract. Driedger, 31, appeared in 23 games this season in the KHL, posting a record of 8-9-2 to go with a .897 save percentage and 3.02 goals-against average.

He has 67 games on his NHL resume and finished last year with the Moose. Might he be coming back to North America for another opportunity? While this may be nothing but a coincidence, it’s something to keep an eye on.

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