- Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will have arthroscopic knee surgery.
- He likely will miss four to six weeks, which means he would be back in late December or early January and be available for the Olympics in February.
- Hellebuyck was Team USA’s No. 1 goaltender at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team received another injury setback with news that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will have arthroscopic knee surgery.
The Michigan native likely will miss four to six weeks, which means he would be back in late December or early January and be available for the Olympics in February.
Hellebuyck has not been named yet to Team USA, but he was the No. 1 goalie at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which the USA lost to Canada in overtime in the final.
He is projected to have the same role for the USA at the Olympics after winning his second consecutive Vezina Trophy (third overall) and the Hart Trophy as league MVP last season.
Connor Hellebuyck injury update
The Jets goalie will have arthroscopic knee surgery on Saturday, Nov. 22, and is expected to be out four to six weeks.
‘This has been nagging him since training camp. He’s tried to play through it,’ Jets coach Scott Arniel told reporters. ‘There’s been good days, bad days. Just something that the timing’s right, get it done now.’
Arniel said choosing to have the surgery now was to get him ready for the second half of the season.
‘Us picking this date had more to do that the last week or so, it’s been bothering him a lot more,’ he said. ‘He’d come out of games and be sore after games, couldn’t practice. … It wasn’t going to get any easier for him.’
Hellebuyck is 8-6-0 this season with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
The Jets recalled goaltender Thomas Milic from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. He will back up Eric Comrie.
Team USA hockey Olympics injury updates
Of the six players already named to the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, five have been hurt. Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was the latest after getting hit in the face by a puck and having surgery.
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes missed time but is back and putting up big numbers. Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk (thumb surgery) is hoping to be ready to go at Thanksgiving. Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk (offseason hernia surgery) is still rehabbing and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews is skating after a lower-body injury but is doubtful for Saturday’s game.
Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel was the sixth player named.
Also, New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes, Quinn’s brother, had surgery on his finger after being hurt at a team dinner. He wasn’t part of the first six but played in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin, also part of that squad, has been out since early October.
The roster deadline is Dec. 31.
This story has been updated with new information.
