To some it might seem like a match made in heaven. An offensively gifted team with a seemingly eternal question mark between the goalposts, and a MVP-calibre goaltender looking for a change of scenery. But the Edmonton Oilers do not need Connor Hellbuyck. He's not the solution to their goalie issues and not the teammate that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl deserve.
In the same way that Brady Tkachuk fled the spotlight and responsibility that comes with playing for a Canadian franchsie, leaving his Ottawa Senator teammates to manage without him, Hellebuyck isn't willing to be a part of the solution in Winnipeg. Oiler fans have heard it for Connor McDavid's entire career, the unsubstatiated rumors that he has one foot out the door. But McDavid has remained and taken a significant home town discount to help his team in its pursuit of a Stanley Cup. That's leadership. That's loyalty.
Abandoning ship
Hellebuyck may just want to be on home soil. In today's somewhat politically charged North America, the Jets netminder may simply feel that his family will be more welcomed south of the border than they are in Canada. But if that's the case, Edmonton is even further from the border than Winnipeg. And if he's simply had enough of playing in a small market, well Rogers Place may seat 2000 more fans, but Edmonton isn't all that much bigger a market.
Hellebuyck is 33 years old, with five years left on an $8.5 million per year contract. He's coming off a down year, where his save percentage dipped below .900 for the first time in his professional career. And while he had some success in international play, the US National team has far more defensive depth than the Jets (or the Oilers), and so those results have to be viewed through that lens.
The fact that really matters is, like the Tkachuks and Quinn Hughes, Hellebuyck doesn't feel a particularly high level of loyalty to the club that drafted, developed, and signed him to a large contract. He might have alwaays had the raw ability to develop into an allstar netminder, or it's possible that Winnipeg's system may have played a role. If Hellebuyck feels no commitment is required to the fans, city, and franchise that he started off with in the NHL, he is unlikely to be all that loyal to Edmonton either. That's not a player the Oilers need on their roster.
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