After another successful summer working for Winnipeg’s rock station I have started to drink the Winnipeg Jets kool-aid. I have thrown those five rough playoff games away in my head and now I look to the future and I see the Jets have been blessed with one of this generations best goaltenders.

The graph above shows the total Vezina Trophy votes from 2004 to today. Hellebuyck (31) is the fourth youngest on this list, only older than Linus Ullmark, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Igor Shesterkin. The Jets’ starter has a few more elite years ahead of him and will likely receive many more Vezina votes and could still win another Vezina trophy. Currently, among this group of goaltenders, Tampa Bay Lightning starter Vasilevskiy might be the only one who could surpass Hellebuyck. However, it would take two injury-riddled seasons for that to happen.

There is still plenty of time for Hellebuyck to put distance between him legends like Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Brodeur, and Roberto Luongo in total Vezina voting. All three of these legends have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

What does Hellebuyck need to do to earn the high distinction of making the Hockey Hall of Fame? With Hellebuyck’s regular season stats at 496 starts, 275 wins, 173 losses, and 41 overtime losses, along with a career .917 save percentage, 2.63 goals against average, and 37 shutouts, he is only two solid regular seasons away from being a Hall of Famer. However, he will need to win some team hardware as well to get into the Hall of Fame with out debate. He should aim to win a gold and a silver at the next two international events, which are happening in 2025 and 2026. Team USA, with Jake Oettinger, should be able to achieve that. A Stanley Cup Finals appearance and being a Hart Memorial Trophy finalist could also help him secure a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Since 2004, Martin Brodeur is the only goalie to win back-to-back Vezinas and to win three in total. Tim Thomas, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Hellebuyck are the only goaltenders with two Vezinas each in that time. Not enough time has passed for Thomas or Bobrovsky to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame yet. Brodeur should be considered the greatest goaltender ever, making it difficult to compare Hellebuyck to him due to Brodeur’s 125 shutouts, 20 seasons of elite play, and multiple team victories.

Tim Thomas won a Conn Smythe Trophy, two Vezinas, the William M. Jennings Trophy, and a Stanley Cup, along with setting records for the most saves in a playoff run and the most saves in a Stanley Cup Finals. Although he played only 426 games and won 214 games over ten season, it is just enough to sneak into the Hall of Fame, he still needs to be voted in which is getting harder and harder to do as each year that passes.

Hellebuyck doesn’t have the playoff success of Thomas but has had a much longer career. If Hellebuyck wins those international medals or a Cup, he will surpass Thomas in terms of career success.

People said Bobrovsky was finished during the early years of his current contract, yet he took the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup Finals not once, but twice, and was the starter when they won the Cup. He is likely to be a Hall of Famer.

He still holds the Blue Jackets’ season records for the lowest goals-against average (2.00) and the highest save percentage (.932), both set in 2012-13, and once made a team-record 52 saves during a 4-3 shootout win against the Florida Panthers on Dec. 4, 2014.

Bobrovsky will pick up his 400th NHL win this season and holds a career 2.59 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. Although he probably won’t win an Olympic medal due to being a Russian-born player, he has more than enough to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

What if Hellebuyck continues to be successful in the regular season but never wins an international medal or makes the Cup Finals? He would need to play great hockey for 15 total years to be considered in the same category as King Henrik, a category for players who were too great for their teams and didn’t receive the support needed to win a Cup.

But let’s end on a positive note: if Hellebuyck wins a Cup and a gold medal, he will go down as the GREATEST American goaltender ever.

What do you think? Will we call Connor Hellebuyck a Hockey Hall of Famer at the end of his career?