A resurgent Andrei Vasilevskiy reclaims his throne as a career-worst season and persistent trade rumors force Winnipeg’s decorated veteran to relinquish the league's most coveted ranking.
Recently, NHL Network ranked Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck as the second-best netminder in the league heading into the 2026-27 season, ending his run atop the network's annual list. Hellebuyck held the No. 1 spot last year, but Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has taken over the top ranking this time around.
Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and a recent Olympic gold medalist, is coming off a season that fell well short of the standard he set in his back-to-back Vezina-winning campaigns. He finished 2025-26 with a 23-23-11 record, a 2.86 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage, a career-worst mark, while trade speculation followed him for much of the summer.
It's a steep drop from the level Hellebuyck sustained during his two-year run atop the league. Across those back-to-back Vezina seasons, he went a combined 84-31-7, posted a 2.19 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage, and led all goaltenders in wins by a wide margin.
Vasilevskiy, meanwhile, reclaimed the top spot after winning his second Vezina Trophy last season. The 32-year-old led the NHL with 39 wins, finishing 39-15-4 with a 2.31 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and two shutouts across 58 games. He also strung together a 17-game unbeaten stretch from late December through late February, during which he posted a 1.90 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
The Jets have already moved to insure themselves against life without Hellebuyck as the trade rumors persist, acquiring former Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner.
The 27-year-old Edmonton native projects as a capable backup behind Hellebuyck for now, but he'd be ready to step into a starting role if Winnipeg ultimately deals its longtime starter. Despite the down year, evaluators are still reluctant to write off Hellebuyck given his track record.
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