Winnipeg Jets star goalie Connor Hellebuyck will miss four to six weeks to undergo a minor Arthroscopic knee procedure.
Hellebuyck went the distance during his last start, stopping 31-of-34 shots he faced against Calgary last Saturday. He also stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout, but has been dealing with a minor, nagging knee issue since training camp. The surgery will be performed on Saturday, Jets coach Scott Arniel said.
“It was just something that the timing is right. Get it done now,” Arniel said. “We have a lot of schedule ahead of us. We sat down and talked to him, the staff, everybody, the agent, this was just the time to do it.”
Hellebuyck, 32, has averaged 60 games played per season since emerging as the Jets’ No. 1 goaltender in 2016-17. This is the first substantial injury he’s faced in his NHL career — a remarkable run of longevity, with Hellebuyck’s 556 games played leading all goaltenders during this time period.
“To put it plainly, it sucks,” Jets captain Adam Lowry said. “You lose the Hart Trophy winner, the Vezina winner, the best goalie in the world for an extended period of time.”
Hellebuyck has missed occasional games to illness — and one when his son was born — but that’s the extent of his absences. Hellebuyck abruptly left one Jets practice at this year’s training camp, telling reporters three days later that he’d gone to a chiropractor to help him with a rib that was out of place.
But this is uncharted territory for the 12-7-0 Jets, and it comes with high stakes. If Hellebuyck misses six weeks, he’ll be sidelined for Winnipeg’s next 20 games.
Eric Comrie will assume the starter’s role during Hellebuyck’s absence. Comrie, 30, has a 4-1-0 record in five starts this season, including Tuesday’s 5-2 win against Columbus. His career high for games played is 20.
“We have all the confidence in the world in what Eric can do,” Lowry said. “Coms has come in and he’s had a stellar start to the year, he had a great year for us last year … he’s going to come in and give us a chance to win every night.”
The Jets also recalled 22-year-old prospect Thomas Milic in time for Friday’s morning skate. Milic has a 5-2-2 record in the AHL this season but has yet to play his first NHL game.
“We’re talking about four to six weeks. I’m not sure Eric can go all of those games,” Arniel said. “(Milic) is going to have to play. I don’t know how we’re going to lay the schedule out but it gets busy once we head out on the road.”
Hellebuyck is Team USA’s presumed starter at the 2026 Winter Olympics after playing three of four games for the Americans at the 4 Nations Face-off. His four- to six-week return timeline places his comeback at the end of December, potentially leaving Olympic participation on the table.
The Jets hold a playoff spot by virtue of a tiebreaker, having achieved 24 points in fewer games than Chicago and Los Angeles — who hold the Western Conference wild-card spots — and Minnesota, who is on the outside looking in.
Hellebuyck is tied for eighth with 14 games played so far this season, after sharing the league lead with Andrei Vasilevskiy in 2024-25 — a season in which Hellebuyck won his first Hart Trophy, second William Jennings Trophy and third Vezina Trophy. He’s a Tier 1, “world class” goalie in Jessie Granger’s goalie tiers and the top goalie in the NHL Player Tiers (in the “franchise” category).
His numbers are down slightly this season, with his save percentage falling from a career-high .925 in 2024-25 to .913 so far this year, but he’s still among the league leaders in goals saved above expected (GSAx).
He’s in the second year of a seven-year, $59.5 million contract extension.
