The Helle-bucks stop here

A weekly lap around the NHL by Free Press hockey writers Ken Wiebe and Mike McIntyre

The New York Islanders are first-overall. The Calgary Flames are in the league basement.

We’re talking about goaltending, specifically the metric of “goals against above expected” as tracked by the Money Puck website which factors in shot quality and location and is a much better measure than traditional numbers such as goals-against-average and even save percentage, which can be heavily influenced by team factors.

In a nutshell, you want to be as high as possible on this list, suggesting your masked men are doing their job by stopping everything they should — and hopefully a few more. The lower you are in the 32-team league, the more likely you have a leaky crease.

The Islanders are currently No. 1 with their duo of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov already saving a combined 4.99 “expected goals” between them in in four games.

Contrast that with the 32nd-ranked Flames, which have seen Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley lit up like Christmas trees, surrendering a whopping 9.99 more goals than expected in their four appearances. Woof.

We bring this up today for one very specific reason: eight U.S. teams (Florida Panthers, 12th; Utah Mammoth, 13th; San Jose Sharks, 14th; Anaheim Ducks, 21st; Carolina Hurricanes, 24th; New Jersey Devils, 26th; Buffalo Sabres, 30th; Los Angeles Kings, 31st) have all been linked to having various levels of interest in Connor Hellebuyck, who is currently on strike from the Winnipeg Jets after requesting a trade.

And it’s clear, based on results so far this season, all could use a boost in net.

Plenty of pundits and fans wondered whether Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff had overplayed his hand and made a major mistake by not moving Hellebuyck this past summer, including the day of the NHL draft when a deal with Buffalo fell apart at the last minute.

Part of the rumoured return was going to be Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who now has a no-trade clause and reportedly won’t waive it for Winnipeg. He may have done the Jets a favour. Luukkonen has surrendered 5.1 more goals than expected in his three starts, ranking him 58th out of 60 netminders to have played at least one game.

Cheveldayoff has made it clear he needs to get this right, wanting a king’s ransom for the three-time Vezina Trophy winner, one-time Hart Trophy winner and Olympic gold medallist. So far, he hasn’t heard an offer he can’t refuse.

Now? The Jets might actually be in a position of strength, especially given the play of Hellebuyck’s replacements which allows for some extra patience.

Winnipeg entered action on Friday night with a 3-0-1 record and sat eighth on the Money Puck list, with Stuart Skinner and Clay Stevenson saving a combined 2.7 expected goals.

Yes, it’s still early and we’re talking small sample sizes. But if these trends continue, Cheveldayoff might find his phone ringing off the hook as potential suitors for Hellebuyck’s services grow increasingly desperate.

Who’s going to be the first to blink? Stay tuned.

Losing the big bucks

Speaking of Hellebuyck, a cheeky new website popped up this week which has taken the NHL by storm.

It’s a real-time tracker showing how much money the 33-year-old has kissed goodbye since he began his holdout. Friday marked his 11th day of being suspended by the team for refusing to report, at a cost that was in excess of US$413,000 by puck drop against the Ducks inside Canada Life Centre.

You can watch the number increase by visiting the aptly named www.hellebucks.com.

AROUND THE GLASS:

Colorado crossroads

Jared Bednar believes his Colorado Avalanche had two choices — and the longtime head coach whose resumé includes the 2022 Stanley Cup was confident they were going to make the right one.

There have been some disappointing playoff departures during Bednar’s now 11-year tenure as well, including being swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final last spring after the Avalanche had won the Presidents’ Trophy as the top team during the regular season.

“For me, it just came down to us not playing to our standard for the week that we played Vegas. The standard had been set and maintained throughout the whole course of the season,” Bednar said during a stop in Winnipeg earlier this week.

“So it was a little bit more frustrating than heartbreaking than some of the previous years have been. But you have two choices: You can dwell on last year or you give everything, strap the boots on and go back to work and our guys have done that.”

The Avalanche entered the season as one of the pre-season picks to once again contend for the Stanley Cup and there are plenty of reasons for that, ranging from the high-end skill of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar to the depth throughout the lineup to the sharp mind of Bednar.

However, there were some questions about the head coach’s future, though those were put to bed when the Yorkton, Sask., product inked a four-year extension last month.

“It’s really nice. I’ve been here a long time now and I’d like to continue with this group,” said Bednar.

Now the second-longest tenured NHL head coach behind Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bednar has done a great job of not allowing the message to grow stale over the years.

“We trust the system,” said MacKinnon.

“He’s really good at knowing when to lay off and knowing when to give it to us a little bit. He doesn’t wear us out with negativity. He’s a pretty positive guy, which is great. That’s the reason why it’s worked so well for so long, because he is positive. He’s a good person, so you definitely want to play for him.”

Bednar has built a strong rapport with the core group and his willingness to adapt and take feedback is another reason the relationship has continued to grow.

“We have a lot of faith in him and it shows over these past years,” said Makar.

“We’re still engaged. You’re always evolving and adapting. For (Bednar), he’s learning from us a lot. It’s an open line of communication. If we ever have things that we want to look at or change or what-not. That dialogue has been great. Over time, it’s just evolved and that’s how we’ve built so much trust. He listens to us and we feel like we’re heard all the time.”

Praise for Craig

Bednar was quick to offer praise to former Brandon Wheat Kings captain Ryan Craig for being named the head coach of the Golden Knights.

Craig was the team captain for the Cleveland Monsters team that captured the Calder Cup when Bednar was the head coach. Craig retired that summer to join the inaugural Golden Knights coaching staff and spent six seasons as an assistant before taking the head coaching gig with the AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.

This past summer, Craig took over as the bench boss of the Golden Knights.

Was Craig the kind of guy Bednar expected to get into coaching once his playing days were done?

“Absolutely. It’s pretty easy to notice,” said Bednar. “Craiger was one of the best leaders I ever had. An experienced player, in the NHL and AHL You could tell by the way that he operates. His professionalism, what he says, when he says it, how he says it.”

“Craiger has put in the work. I wish him all the success, except for when they play us.”

winnipegfreepress.com/mikemcintyre

winnipegfreepress.com/kenwiebe