13 games in to the season, the Winnipeg Jets goaltending hasn’t been what many thought it would be. Maybe expectations were too high to begin with, but that hasn’t stopped people from pointing the finger at the Jets goaltending for the team’s early struggles. Drew Stafford, Mathieu Perreault, Bryan Little and Tyler Myers are currently on the IR and along with Jacob Trouba still holding out, you’ll still find people electing the goaltending as the team’s scapegoat.

26 year-old Michael Hutchinson and 23 year-old Connor Hellebuyck shouldn’t be blamed entirely for the team’s performance, it’s time to cut the Jets goaltenders some slack and understand the situation surrounding them.

You couldn’t blame fans and media for being optimistic about the Jets goaltending at the start of the year. Winnipeg had sent down long-time underperforming starting goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to the minors, thus marking a new era in the Jets crease. It was time for the Jets young goaltenders to take on the reigns and with that kind of move being made, growing pains are going to be had. Maybe this was something Jets fans didn’t take in to account as they celebrated the demotion of Ondrej Pavelec. But what was hidden in the Pavelec situation was that Connor Hellebuyck (and Michael Hutchinson for that matter) aren’t going to turn things around drastically right away on their own. 

Both goaltenders have got off to shaky starts, there is no denying that. They’ve each let in some soft ones and they haven’t provided the Jets with any stability in net.

Hellebuyck, who has been deemed as one of the best young goaltenders in the league by some, was much better last season. In fact, Hellebuyck had the best 5 on 5 save percentage in the entire NHL last season. Even Hutchinson’s poor play is surprising when looking at the numbers. Hutchinson may have had an impressive stretch back in 2014-2015, but since then, he’s looked nothing more than a backup goaltender. His dip in production is still surprising nonetheless. 

The thing with goaltending is, when the team in front of you isn’t doing so well, it’s likely going to derail your play. Especially for a young goaltender like Hellebuyck who is just finding his way at the NHL level.

The Jets defence is currently as shell of what many thought it could be. Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers are out of the picture for the time being and the domino effect that comes with that makes the Jets defence even weaker. Along with that with Mathieu Perreault, Drew Stafford and Bryan Little are on the shelf ( all of which are quite reliable in their own zone) the Jets become even more depleted up front. The Jets as a whole aren’t playing great team-defense and have hung out their goalies to dry at times.

That should all be taken in to account before throwing shade at the Jets goaltenders, specifically Hellebuyck. A young goalie like Hellebuyck coming in to the league at 23 years old is going to experience some growing pains. It’s an adjustment. It’s difficult to face not only your personal speed bumps, but also take blame for those of the team around you. 

The Jets goaltending coaching could be an issue, but I’d like to see how the goalies fair with a fully healthy roster ahead of them before jumping to that conclusion as well. The injuries the Jets have can’t be undermined, they don’t have lots of depth at the moment and their team defense as a whole has taken a hit. 

The Jets as a whole are young and with that, speed bumps will be common and tough times are going to be ahead. Let’s ease away from the panic button on the Jets goalies. The above reasons aren’t to say that the Jets goaltending has been fine, because it hasn’t. The point is, there is more beyond the surface when looking at Winnipeg’s goaltending.