The Buffalo Sabres seemed to be in the lead for much of the summer on the chance of trading for Winnipeg Jets superstar goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
The 2026-27 NHL season has arrived, though, and Hellebuyck still is in Winnipeg.
The saga doesn’t seem over, but a trade hasn’t happened yet, and now it might be tougher for Buffalo to pull off a deal.
There’s actually a specific holdup that has reached the action with the arrival of the regular season.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Trade Problem
The assumption for much of the offseason was that if the Sabres traded for Hellebuyck, they’d send goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen the other way. UPL was the one goalie the Sabres had who still had some youth and upside, so it’d make sense that Winnipeg would want him if they were dealing Hellebuyck.
The problem now is that Luukkonen’s contract extension has officially kicked in with Buffalo, and that extension has a reported five-team no-trade list.
Winnipeg is on that list, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
That means even if the Sabres agreed to a trade for Hellebuyck with UPL involved, he could then veto the deal.
And given he could only have five teams on his list and he put Winnipeg on there, it sure seems like Luukkonen wouldn’t be in a hurry to join the Jets.
“The biggest question in the Hellebuyck saga is this: Does Clay Stevenson convince Winnipeg to ease their desire to get a goalie in any trade?” Friedman wrote in his new 32 Thoughts column on Tuesday about a different goalie the Jets just acquired. “This is a huge opportunity for Stevenson, claimed on waivers from Washington, who trains with one of Hellebuyck’s netminder mentors, B.C.-based Adam Francilia. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, one of the Jets’ potential trade targets, can now block a trade to Manitoba, and there is believed to be at least one other goalie they looked at who can do it, too. That’s made the path more difficult.”
There is something to be said for the fact that the Sabres didn’t pay the overall cost of young skaters, UPL and draft picks that the Jets were surely seeking. They must’ve not felt it was worth it.
Still, if they had any inklings of still going for it, it’ll be harder with Luukkonen’s new contract details having kicked in.
Sabres Had a Chance
Friedman did write in his column that Buffalo had a real chance at the Hellebuyck acquisition.
“Buffalo was the closest to getting something done,” Friedman writes. “I think Anaheim and Utah were among those that took a peek.”
It sure would’ve created quite the buzz in Buffalo. The Sabres made the playoffs for the first time in 15 years last spring, and the city was rocking.
They’re certainly ready for the new season, which begins Thursday night in Columbus for the Sabres. But with Hellebuyck, the hype would’ve been even higher.
Sabres’ Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Just Ruined Chance of Connor Hellebuyck Trade