Jets Hit Connor Hellebuyck With Brutal Reality Check As Things Get Even Uglier.

The narrative around Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has just taken a drastic turn and has a lot of fans looking at the Winnipeg Jets very differently.

On Saturday night, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman dropped a bombshell when he revealed that Hellebuyck wasn't sitting on the sidelines by choice, but rather had been forced to the sidelines by the Jets themselves.

"Connor Hellebuyck did come to the Jets about the start of the season and said 'I want to come back and I want to return and rejoin the team,'" revealed Friedman during Saturday night's NHL broadcast.

While that was surprising in and of itself, the next reveal from Friedman is what has flipped the narrative here on it's head. There have been rumors circulating that both the Jets organization and the players in the Jets locker room do not want to see Hellebuyck make a return, and Friedman all but confirmed that. Although Hellebuyck expressed a desire to come back, the Jets hit him with a brutal reality check.

"The Jets, because he didn't have permission to be away, were given [the leeway to suspended him], the league and the players association both knew about it and there was an agreement made that they could suspend him until next Friday [October 23rd] without pay," revealed Friedman.

That is to say the Jets made the choice to suspend their own star goaltender for what will be at least the first 10 games of the season over simply allowing him to rejoin the team.

That speaks to a genuine animosity that has developed between the Jets organization and their star goaltender, and it was echoed by the Jets players on Saturday night when Jets captain Adam Lowry made it clear he wasn't thrilled at the prospect of Hellebuyck's return.

"If he does show up, conversations are going to have to happen," said Lowry of a potential return for Hellebuyck.

The relationship between the parties involved may have deteriorated so badly that the Jets would prefer to pay Hellebuyck millions just to stay away from the team.

"I think there's a legitimate chance, a very legitimate chance, that if they don't have this done by Friday, that Winnipeg says 'We'll pay you but you don't have to come,'" concluded Friedman.

This certainly isn't going to help Hellebuyck's value but it now seems like a trade is without a doubt the best solution for everyone involved here.