Hellebuyck’s Holdout Now Has a Price Tag, and Jets Fans Are Tracking It

Connor Hellebuyck is losing money by the second, and one Winnipeg Jets fan isn’t above rubbing it in. A fan-made website, hellebucks.com, has gone live with a real-time money-loss tracker, showing how much of Hellebuyck’s $7.5 million salary is disappearing as he sits out.

If you go to the website, the total forfeited since he demanded a trade is in the neighborhood of 5.5% of his salary. As of Friday morning, the total was more than $400,000 and climbing.

The site doesn’t hide its feelings. Giving fans a solid image of what that kind of money means to the everyday fan, the owner of the site compared the money lost to different ways people could spend $400K. To put the number in perspective, the site converts it into everyday terms: 378 months of rent on a one-bedroom in Winnipeg, 3,663 lower-bowl tickets to watch the Jets’ other goalies, 1,966 Hellebuyck jerseys, or 285 sets of goalie pads.

The site added the tagline: “We’d have built you a statue. Instead we built this counter.”

Hellebuyck Has Lost So Many Fans Through His Trade Request Stance

The anger is easy to understand. Hellebuyck requested a trade privately, then went public when the Jets didn’t move fast enough. Sitting out to gain leverage was the final straw for many fans.

Meanwhile, the Jets are in no hurry. Winnipeg is 3-0-1 and leads the Central Division, with Stuart Skinner and Clay Stevenson pushing the team forward and making Hellebuyck’s absence somewhat irrelevant. Perhaps that success doesn’t last forever, but it gives GM Kevin Cheveldayoff room to wait. He can make the right trade, if and when it helps the Jets. Hellebuyck, meanwhile, can sit and squirm.

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The Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and San Jose Sharks are reportedly still interested, but how much they’ll remain interested could be a storyline. The longer Hellebuyck sits, the rustier he’ll be when he comes back. And, given the way he approached this trade request, there’s likely some trepidation that he’s the kind of character a contender might want.

The longer this stretches out, the uglier it gets for Hellebuyck. He’s not only losing money, but he’s losing support. It’s even being reported that the NHL is watching this situation closely and is standing beside the Jets organization. They’ve done everything above board, and the league doesn’t like players signing contracts and then bailing on them when things don’t go their way.

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