The Winnipeg Jets appeared to have some frontrunners for Connor Hellebuyck for a while.
The Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Utah Mammoth all seemed to spend time in the potential lead for a Hellebuyck trade.
In the end, though, none of those teams got Hellebuyck. Instead, it was the New Jersey Devils who swooped in on Friday to pull off the trade.
It had fans of the other teams wondering what had gone wrong in their pursuit of Hellebuyck. Had the reports erred in their leaning toward those clubs? Or had something simply been missing in the end that forced them to come up short?
It certainly sounds like there was just something lacking.
What the Jets wanted, those other teams apparently weren’t quite willing to offer.
Why Jets Didn’t Trade Connor Hellebuyck To Hurricanes
Carolina apparently didn’t have a forward on their roster that Winnipeg wanted enough to make the trade happen.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday Headlines that the Hurricanes were working to involve a third team just to find the right fit.
“They tried to reach out to other teams to figure out forwards that the Jets might have interest in, and they were going to trade for those players, and flip that player to the Jets to get Hellebuyck,” Friedman said.
The Hurricanes clearly have a powerful roster as defending Stanley Cup champs, but they also apparently didn’t want to move the type of forward that the Jets were looking for.
That does put a particular spotlight on what the Jets did get instead of anything from Carolina.
Sportsnet also included this detail:
Friedman added that the Jets wanted “immediate forward help” in the return for their long-time goalie, and the Hurricanes weren’t willing to include players like Seth Jarvis, Logan Stankoven or Jackson Blake in a trade.
Jets’ Return for Connor Hellebuyck
The Jets got three forwards in the deal for Hellebuyck.
One was the veteran Nick Bjugstad, who isn’t a big prize but moved some salary and provides a veteran presence.
The other two are younger forwards Dawson Mercer and Alexander Command, who was just the No. 12 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The pressure is now on Mercer and Command to prove worthy of being traded for Hellebuyck.
Winnipeg clearly decided that the return for its star goalie didn’t need to be a different goalie. Instead, they wanted forwards, and that’s what they got.
So the best way to judge the Hellebuyck trade in the long run will be how many goals the Jets got in return for their superstar goalie.
The Reason Jets Didn’t Trade Connor Hellebuyck To Hurricanes