Connor Hellebuyck To Undergo Arthroscopic Knee Procedure, Out 4-6 Weeks

Jets superstar goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will undergo a minor arthroscopic knee procedure that will keep him out of the lineup for four to six weeks, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Winnipeg announced they’ve recalled Thomas Milic from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose in a corresponding move. The Jets have an open roster spot and do not need to move Hellebuyck to injured reserve to accommodate Milic’s addition.

It’s an unanticipated bit of news for Hellebuyck, who’s evidently been playing through or aggravating a knee issue through the first several weeks of the season. While he didn’t start the Jets’ last game on Tuesday against the Blue Jackets, he’s shouldered his normal heavy workload this year by starting 14 of Winnipeg’s 19 games. That put him squarely on pace for his fifth consecutive season with 60 or more starts, but he’ll fall short of that mark now.

Hellebuyck being unavailable is extremely rare. The 32-year-old has only missed six games combined since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, all due to illness or personal reasons. In his 11-year NHL career, he’s only missed one game due to injury, which occurred for undisclosed reasons in May 2021.

The back-to-back Vezina Trophy winner has been on something of a cold streak, which could explain the timing to shut him down – combined with a light schedule interrupted by the holiday break that will still get him back in the lineup in time for the Olympics, where he remains the United States’ projected No. 1 option. Hellebuyck peaked with a year-to-date SV% of .932 following his sixth start of the year back on Oct. 23. Since then, he’s produced a more pedestrian .899 SV% and 4-4-0 record in his last eight appearances.

Entering this season, Hellebuyck had posted a SV% of .920 or better in three straight campaigns. Through his 14 appearances in 2025-26, he’s down to a more conservative .913 mark. A deeper look shows that’s more attributable to the team in front of him than his individual play. According to MoneyPuck, Hellebuyck has still saved 12.5 goals above expected, ranking third in the league. That’s done heavy lifting to cover up a Winnipeg defense that’s arguably been a bottom-10 group in the league so far. They’re allowing 28.9 shots per game, 22nd in the league, and their 3.56 expected goals against per 60 in all situations is sixth-worst. That’s a catastrophic drop from last season, when the Jets’ 2.78 xGA/60 ranked third-best in the NHL.

With Hellebuyck still performing at an elite level, the Jets have a 12-7-0 record and are on pace for 104 points, after finishing with 110-plus points each of the last two seasons. They’ll need to do some major defensive clean-up – and quickly – to help them stay above water as they navigate a stretch of 7 of 11 games against teams that made the playoffs last year.

A four-week timeline as a best-case scenario puts Hellebuyck back in the lineup no sooner than Dec. 19 against the Avalanche. That results in a minimum absence of 14 games, but could stretch to 20 if he misses a full six weeks. With Hellebuyck’s earned reputation as arguably the league’s most durable netminder, Winnipeg understandably hasn’t invested much in its goaltending depth. If he’s out for a quarter of the calendar, that could pose a serious issue as the jockey for playoff positioning in a tough Central Division.

Eric Comrie, who’s coming off a career-high of just 20 starts in 2024-25, is now Winnipeg’s No. 1 option until Hellebuyck returns. He was a perfectly passable backup option last year, recording a .914 SV% and 2.5 goals saved above expected with a 9-10-1 record after a pair of difficult seasons in similar deployment with the Sabres. This season, he’s been similarly effective in spot starts with a 4-1-0 record, .908 SV%, 2.60 GAA, and 3.8 GSAx. He’s never been tested in an extended stretch of starts, though, and has been below-average over his 82-game career sample with a .899 SV%, 3.08 GAA, and 37-37-4 record.

If he falters, the Jets don’t have another option in the organization with NHL experience. Acquiring a veteran third-string option, even if there’s a risk of losing him on waivers when Hellebuyck returns, is a prudent move that general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will no doubt pursue.

In the meantime, Milic steps up from the minors to get his first taste of an NHL bench. The 22-year-old is in his third season of professional hockey after the Jets selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. The former Western Hockey League goalie of the year and World Juniors gold medalist had yet to gain a foothold on a full-time AHL job, splitting each of his first two years between the Moose and the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals.

Early this year, though, Milic hasn’t just locked down an AHL job; he’s won the wide-open competition to serve as the organizational No. 3 behind Comrie. He’s been given nine starts in Manitoba to fellow youngster Domenic DiVincentiis’ seven and has been the far superior option, logging a .921 SV% and 2.14 GAA with a 5-2-2 record and one shutout. His limited track record makes him a risky choice for extended deployment, especially considering he had a .877 SV% in 21 AHL games just last year. Nonetheless, he’s flashed enough promise through the first few weeks of 2025-26 to earn the initial recall.

Suppose the Jets roll with Comrie and Milic for the time being and limit the latter’s usage to relieving Comrie in back-to-back situations. In that case, his NHL debut won’t come for another week until the Jets play Carolina next Friday before traveling to Nashville on Saturday.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.