Connor Hellebuyck’s trade status — or lack of it at this point — remains one of the biggest stories in the NHL.
The Winnipeg Jets‘ goalie isn’t playing while he hopes to be traded, but the Jets aren’t rushing anything, even as there’s been suggestion of a Friday deadline.
And in a sense, there’s a change coming Friday, when Hellebuyck is eligible to return to the Jets after a suspension.
So for some, there’s a belief that Winnipeg would do best to trade Hellebuyck away before then to avoid any trouble.
There’s plenty of reason to believe that won’t happen, though, as well.
Connor Hellebuyck Trade Update
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston provided an update on this in a new article on Wednesday.
“As the clock continues to tick toward the end of Connor Hellebuyck’s team-imposed suspension for failing to report to Winnipeg Jets training camp, there’s no question that a trade would bring the cleanest ending to a difficult situation for everyone involved,” Johnston writes. “But that doesn’t guarantee a Hellebuyck deal will materialize by Friday. Far from it.”
Just like a trade hasn’t happened so far, that could remain the case over the next few days, as well.
Winnipeg’s willingness to hurry up on a deal likely won’t change just because that one time peg arrives.
“For starters, this is far too important a decision for the Jets to simply rush to a quick conclusion,” Johnston writes. “Hellebuyck is one of the best goaltenders in the world, and he’s under contract through 2031. Plus, the opening weeks of the NHL’s regular season are not a time when suitors are most likely to act aggressively to get a deal across the line.”
Who Wants Connor Hellebuyck?
Johnston goes on to name three teams that have been most connected to Hellebuyck.
“Not only does Hellebuyck’s sparkling resume include an Olympic gold, Hart Trophy and three Vezina Trophies, he has also been one of the NHL’s biggest workhorses for a decade,” Johnston writes. “In a league where goaltenders are seeing their starts more carefully managed than ever, he’s appeared in 57, 63, 60, 64 and 66 games the past five seasons. And he’s posted elite numbers while doing so, until a down season in 2025-26. It’s no coincidence that the teams most prominently linked to Hellebuyck in trade discussions all have big aspirations, with the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres and Utah Mammoth among his most likely potential landing spots.”
Hellebuyck, a lot like Red Wings center Dylan Larkin, seems to want to land with a team in the United States. There are still a lot of possibilities, but that narrows at least a few off the board.
At this point, it’s just a waiting game. Will Friday’s deadline matter? Maybe. But maybe not.
Jets Trading Connor Hellebuyck by Friday Chances Revealed