Hellebuyck, Jets left to deal with rapid fall from grace this season - BERITAJA

Plummeting from a Presidents’ Trophy victor to failing to make the NHL playoffs was “unacceptable, this season,” Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck assessed Friday.

“This year, it was chaos,” said Hellebuyck, who won some the Vezina and Hart Trophy the erstwhile season.

Hellebuyck recorded a lowly 2.86 goals-against mean and an .895 prevention percent past season.

“We came disconnected to a beautiful bully start,” he said. “I wouldn’t opportunity we were playing awesome astatine the start, but we sewage a bully commencement (9-3).

“I played bully capable to triumph a golden badge (at the Winter Olympics). And I’m telling you, my crippled wasn’t different earlier aliases after.”

Winnipeg vanished pinch a deplorable 35-35-12 record.

“To return the measurement backmost that we did this twelvemonth conscionable felt very wrong,” Hellebuyck said. “From the Presidents’ Trophy to this, it felt for illustration this should person ne'er happened.

“And it did. I’m portion of it. I’m not saying that I’m not a large portion of it too. I am. Looking astatine the future, it takes time. It takes clip to re-evaluate those things.”

The Jets arsenic a squad were each portion of it.

“Just, to a man, it conscionable wasn’t bully capable this year,” said guardant Kyle Connor. “We had specified precocious expectations arsenic a team, winning the Presidents’ Trophy and the twelvemonth anterior (making the playoffs) and it was a very disappointing year.

“Frustrating successful a batch of aspects.”

It besides won’t beryllium easy to get backmost into playoff contention adjacent year.

“It’s hard,” said Hellebuyck, 32. “Can you get the pieces you need? Will the players come?

“Those are ever questions you person successful Winnipeg. I’ve made it my location and I for illustration it here, but I deliberation the mostly of the convention doesn’t consciousness the aforesaid way.”

Yet, Hellebuyck and different Jets remained optimistic about the future.

“We cognize the group that we have, the halfway that we have, and the accomplishment and the talent,” said guardant Cole Perfetti. “And we showed what we were could of past year.

“Obviously, not going arsenic acold successful the playoffs arsenic we had hoped, but to beryllium the champion squad n the regular season, I deliberation everyone successful this group believes it, too. There’s nary uncertainty that we’re a playoff squad and that was conscionable a one-off.”

Meanwhile, some skipper Adam Lowry and Perfetti suggested they came backmost from their respective injuries excessively soon, which affected their play.

Jets guardant Mark Scheifele’s play isn’t over. He’ll play for Canada astatine the world lucky title successful Switzerland, May 15-31.

“I’m really excited for it,” said Scheifele, who was snubbed by those picking the Olympic squad earlier this year. “Any chance you person the opportunity to spell and compete for your country, you’ve sewage to return it pinch honour, and I’m conscionable excited to play much hockey.

“I emotion this game, I emotion playing, I emotion competing. I want to spell complete location and triumph a golden badge and do that pinch immoderate bully friends, truthful I’m really excited for that opportunity.”

Scheifele recorded a franchise-record 103 points this season.

Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo will besides play for Canada.

After missing 2 afloat seasons, guardant Jonathan Toews suited up for 82 games pinch Winnipeg. He scored 11 goals and vanished pinch 29 points and was noncommittal about his lucky future.

“If I’m being honorable pinch myself and I look backmost to a mates years agone wherever I was at, yeah, it decidedly feels for illustration a immense accomplishment,” said the Winnipeg native. “I’m very proud that I went aft it and did what I could to get backmost to this level and to play successful the NHL again. That being said, I deliberation location were parts of my crippled that really struggled early on.

“I’m ace happy and proud that I went aft the dream of playing successful the NHL again. But, astatine the aforesaid time, you person expectations successful your mind of what benignant of subordinate you could beryllium and really you want to lend to your team. And obviously, I wasn’t anyplace adjacent to that, unfortunately.”

If Toews does determine to return, he said it will beryllium arsenic a Jet.

“He’s been an absolute dainty to beryllium around, a dainty to study from, a dainty to person meal with, prime his encephalon connected truthful galore things,” Scheifele said. “I dream he keeps playing.

“I deliberation he was awesome for us.”