Having the Connor Hellebuyck situation remain unresolved for the start of training camp Thursday morning at Hockey For All Centre would not be the first choice for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, head coach Scott Arniel, and very likely Hellebuyck’s eventual former team mates for that matter.
But the longer the star goalie’s trade request goes unfulfilled – there is opportunity for the likes of young forwards Isak Rosen, Brad Lambert, Brayden Yager, Nikita Chibrikov, Parker Ford and Danny Zhilkin to make an impression.
And the battle up front will only get more interesting if Nino Niederreiter and Vlad Namestnikov are able to show some early signs of bouncing back from nightmare seasons.
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But there won’t be much time because of a reduced training camp and exhibition schedule to accommodate the increase to 84 games for the coming regular season.
Until Hellebuyck is dealt, or a veteran free agent goalie is signed in the event the three-time Vezina Trophy winner refuses to report, the Manitoba Moose duo of Thomas Milic and Dominic DiVincentiis are the current leading options to backup Stu Skinner.
Elias Salomonsson is not expected to be ready to start the season, so who among Haydn Fleury, Jack St. Ivany, Henry Thrun, Isaak Phillips and Tyrell Bauer emerges as a third pair partner for Mario Ferarro?
And we haven’t even mentioned highly rated rookie Viggo Bjorck – who did not disappoint with his performance this past weekend at the prospect tournament in Gatineau.
The noise around Connor Hellebuyck will likely not abate by even one decibel. But fans would also be advised to not sleep on what could be the most interesting training camp to date of the Jets 2.0 era.
The Jets organization is a mess due to the incompetence of Cheveldayoff. That’s the storyline in Winnipeg. No pro team ownership keeps the same GM for 16 years and counting; only to continually achieve failure and now regression! And opinions like Moore’s play a big part of the failures in Winnipeg due to incompetent reporting: 16 years ago the talk was about prospects and today it’s still the same storyline. It’s obvious Moore’s job is to shield Cheveldayoff and Jets management from criticism. It’s time for this ConJOB to come to an end and send Moore and Cheveldayoff packing together. A critical media eye is needed in Winnipeg to create pressure on the Winnipeg ownership group to win a Stanley Cup. That’s what true Manitobans want; not all this sugarcoating by Moore to mask incompetence at all levels of the Jets organization! And, pity is no excuse for Cheveldayoff’s failures either!