WINNIPEG — Eric Comrie left the Winnipeg Jets two seasons ago in search of opportunity — a starter’s net, in an ideal world, or a time share if he couldn’t manage that.
A torn MCL, a pulled groin and only 29 NHL games later, it’s safe to say things didn’t work out the way Comrie wanted. His two-year audition in Buffalo was meant to launch him into a bigger role. Instead, when Comrie picked up his agent’s phone call in the middle of a workout on July 1, it was to fight for a backup job in Winnipeg — the place where he’d played the best hockey of his career.
On Friday, Comrie spoke to The Athletic shortly before it was announced that Colorado claimed Kaapo Kahkonen from waivers, effectively guaranteeing Comrie the backup role he’d excelled at before signing with the Sabres.
“It’s still a job I have to earn every single day, Comrie said. “I have to make sure I work for it every single day. Just because I have it now, it doesn’t mean I automatically keep it. You have to perform and succeed every single day and make sure you earn that spot every single day.”
Kahkonen’s departure leaves the Jets with a clear No. 1 — Connor Hellebuyck — and Comrie in the No. 2 job. The Jets might be forced into a follow-up move, perhaps adding a goaltender to insulate the youth of Thomas Milic, 21, and Domenic DiVincentiis, 20, in the AHL. I think Winnipeg’s preference would be to add a veteran AHL netminder to support Milic, allowing DiVincentiis the opportunity to get a high volume of starts for ECHL Norfolk.
Comrie has played 214 AHL games, including four last season, and was picked by many observers as the odd man out of the Jets’ net when training camp began. While Comrie is Manitoba’s all-time leader in games played (203) and wins (86), Kahkonen has played more NHL games than Comrie has, posting a superior save percentage across 139 starts. Kahkonen also played more preseason minutes than Comrie did, although when the time came to choose a backup for Game 1 against Edmonton, the Jets picked Comrie for the role.
Comrie says he welcomed the fight for a job.
“Competition brings out the best in you,” Comrie said. “You don’t want to just be given anything. You want to earn everything in life. I think that’s a good way to look at things. Coming here with three guys, I think you want to go out there and do the best you can every single day. It drives you. It makes you better. It pushes you as an individual and as a team so I think for myself, it was a good thing.”
Comrie’s path to the NHL depended on his ability to outwork all competition. He skated 364 out of 365 days as a teenager, allowing himself a single day off on Christmas. He was known for being the first player on the ice and the last off it as a Jet and a Moose and was the last player off the ice before Friday’s interview. He manages the stress that comes with elite performance by controlling the things he can control — first and foremost, his work ethic.
When Comrie’s torn MCL derailed a strong start to his Sabres career, he was forced to play catchup in a difficult situation. When Comrie returned to Buffalo in January 2023, it was like trying to jump onto a speeding train. The midseason pace had picked up; Comrie was clawing at a job in a crowded crease. He struggled with the Buffalo’s goalie rotation and the lack of playing time that came with it. That cycle only repeated itself when he pulled his groin to start last season.
“As a player, it’s hard, but as a goalie, it’s even harder — especially when you have three or four goalies up at the time and you’re not getting the amount of reps in practice,” Comrie said. “I’m a guy who likes a lot of work and I wasn’t able to get that much work because we had a lot of guys cycling through nets. It was harder for me to get that rhythm or that swagger.”
“Honestly, it’s something I work on. I try and have a little more swagger because … I believe in myself a lot, but I believe in the work that I do more than anything else,” Comrie said. “I’m not the kind of guy who can just show up and say, ‘I’m the best, I’m the greatest.’ I have to go out there and do the work I can do be able to be comfortable. If I’ve outworked everyone I possibly can, I’ve given myself comfort. (With three goalies in Buffalo) I could never believe that I was doing enough work.”
Comrie picked Winnipeg in part because he saw it as a place where he could return to that hardworking identity. He changed his training this summer in an effort to stay durable, rebuilding his stance.
“My trainer and I really went through and broke some things down and got better at what we had to get better at. I’m very confident in what I have right now, what I’ve done, and where I’m at in my body,” he said. “I was putting more pressure on my hips and my groins and it was causing me to get injured a little bit more than I should have — instead of being in my core, being in my legs, and making the big muscles do the work.”
The other reason Comrie decided to come back to Winnipeg is because so many of his best friends are Jets players. He’s been close with Josh Morrissey for most of his life. Mark Scheifele officiated his wedding. Hellebuyck is a close friend who shares an agent and a workout coach. These are meaningful personal and professional advantages for Comrie — advantages he believes contribute directly to his performance.
“Every time I’ve gone to a new team, you’re kind of a little bit on edge. You have a little bit of extra anxiety. It can hold you back a little from being your best because you’re trying to perform to the top level you can and you’re just a little bit stuck. You have to get to know people. You don’t know their names. You don’t know their tendencies. You don’t know what they do,” Comrie said.
“A lot of people just have that swagger to get to know people. Me, I’m more comfortable around people that I know more. Every human being is different. That’s just the way I am.”
(Photo of Eric Comrie and Connor Hellebuyck: Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)
