So far, the amount of salary Connor Hellebuyck has missed amid his suspension from the Winnipeg Jets is enough to pay for more than 383,000 Slurpees, 106,000 Fat Boy burgers and more than 640 months of rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg, according to a new website. “Hellebucks” was created by lifelong Jets fan Robson Fletcher and tracks the amount of salary Hellebuyck has forfeited since being suspended by the team after failing to report to training camp in September. As of Friday at 11 a.m., Hellebuyck has forfeited more than $675,000 of his $7.5 million yearly salary, which works out to $38,660 per day and 45 cents per second, according to the constantly moving tracker. Fletcher got the idea after watching a Jets game several weeks ago and was looking for a clear answer to how much money the star goaltender was losing out on by not plating. “I currently work with data as a profession, and I just went to look for the numbers myself, and while I was doing it, I thought I might as well put this together into something,” he said in an interview from his Calgary home. The Olympic gold medalist, three-time Vezina Trophy winner and former Hart Trophy winner went public with a trade request in August, three years after signing a seven-year extension with the Jets. Fletcher designed the site with a Winnipeg audience in mind, with references to Slurpees and Fat Boys, but since it went live, it has blown up in popularity. Hellebucks has been mentioned on TSN and ESPN and has been profiled in The Athletic, the New York Times’ sports journalism department. “It’s been fun to watch because I was hoping that it would get some attention in Winnipeg, but it’s gone well beyond that,” he said. Robson thinks the interest in the site is due to not only the situation with Hellebuyck, but the situation with American players wanting to leave Canadian markets or demanding trades in recent months. As for the actual situation involving Hellebuyck, Fletcher had a mixed reaction. “It’s not great to see such an excellent player kind of leave the organization in a lurch,” he said. “But at the same time, everyone’s got the right to make their own personal decisions. So I do respect that as well.” Fletcher also believes teams and fans have moved on as the suspension continues to go on. “The Jets are off to a pretty good start this year,” he said. “I think people like Stuart Skinner as a starting goalie. I think it’s the team and the city is moving on. “I don’t know how this ends up being resolved, but I personally would see it as very difficult for him to return to the Jets at this point.”
