The San Jose Sharks are one of the teams to have kicked tires on Connor Hellebuyck. Does it make sense for them to be interested?
NHL Network: EJ Hradek and Ken Daneyko, talking about Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and Elliotte Friedman’s comments that the San Jose Sharks have “kicked tires” on Hellebuyck. Are the Sharks a fit?
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Hradek: “Our buddy, NHL Network insider Elliotte Friedman, was on the Fan Hockey Show on Sportsnet, and he ruffled, he kind of made a little news. He said, ‘You know, the tires have been kicked between the Jets and the Sharks on maybe a Hellebuck deal.’ Didn’t go much further than that. I guess some kind of conversation didn’t, I don’t think exactly had a time frame.
But as we wait and wonder what’s going to happen with Connor Hellebuyck, these are the kind of things that are going to be out there. And you can see here are the, the career numbers in Jets/Thrashers franchise history.
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And Hellebuyck is, I mean, he has been lights out, good for them. In the playoffs. It’s been a little bit of a different story. But certainly in the regular season, I mean, a three-time Vezina winner, a Hart Trophy winner, he’s got a gold medal with Team USA last February.
Dano, what, do you think it’s a fit in San Jose, a team that’s rebuilding and playing better and has some good young players? Is it time to go in on a goalie when they already have (Yaroslav) Askarov there, who is a younger goalie?
Daneyko: “There’s a couple of factors here. I mean, look, they came relatively close last year, right? Are they ready to take a step? They’ve all might be.
Hradek: “They want to make the playoffs.
Daneyko: “I have to think they’re a team that can make the playoffs. The Celebreni is even going to be better. The surrounding youngsters and core there now are going to push and be a little bit better as well. They’ve added three veteran defensemen. That’s where they were thin. They add three veteran D. They had a (Mason) Marchment, physical forward that can put the puck in the net.
So yeah, it appears that they want to be a team that, ‘No, we’re not going to just inch along here. We’re ready to strike now. We’re ready to make the playoffs.’
The question I have is Askarov. He’s got a bright future. It was a little bit topsy-turvy, up and down season, like a lot of young goaltenders. Yes, it was. So you have to ask yourself, if you’re the general manager, Mike Greer, you say, ‘Do we believe in Askarov 100%, and he’s going to take those steps this season and moving forward, because then we’ve got a really good goaltender for a long time?’
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Or do we believe, the way Hellebuyck has been so consistent in the regular season for so many years, why wouldn’t you kick the tires if that’s the question? You, I don’t know if you can keep Askarov then because he would be a disgruntled …”
Hradek: “Maybe he’s part of the deal.”
Daneyko: “… younger, maybe future, of the franchise goaltender.”
Hradek: “Maybe he’s part of the deal, maybe to Winnipeg, along with, you know. I think the Jets have been holding out in all this to try to acquire a center in this deal. And you know, the San Jose Sharks have a lot of young players, so do they have players that would work for Winnipeg? Winnipeg has been very clear. We’re not giving Hellebuyck away.
And whoever gets him gets a guy who’s on a really good contract for another five years. So this will continue. We’ll hear the rumors. I think there’s other teams: Buffalo, New Jersey, certainly San Jose. There’s teams that are interested, but can they make it work for Winnipeg?
Daneyko: “I believe, I believe there’s a handful of teams, and the teams that you mentioned would kick the tires on Connor Hellebuyck. Why wouldn’t you? You have to consider age. Is he going to continue to play at this level of play? And yeah, we know the playoffs has not been kind. Maybe a different scenery, change of scenery, would be different this time around. We saw what he did in the gold medal game, stole that game against Canada for Team USA.
For me, though, if I’m the Sharks, and this is just an opinion, I’m probably staying the course because I, I believe in Askarov. I think, and it was inconsistent. The numbers weren’t, weren’t great just yet, but I, I think he can be a long-term solution, long-term goaltender that gets into that upper echelon of netminders in the National Hockey League.
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He’s a little higher risk if you have, higher risk going into Askarov if he doesn’t make that progress. And you have kind of a sure bet if you’re allowed, if you’re able to acquire Connor Hellebuyck. Well, probably, but for me, I’d probably stay the course.”
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