NHL Insider Says Jets Receiving "Terrible" Offers for Connor Hellebuyck

On Monday, some more insight was brought to the forefront of the trade saga between the Winnipeg Jets and superstar goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on the radio show First Up that he had heard about the offers the Jets were receiving from teams, calling them terrible, and said that even with the expanded trade list, it still doesn’t give Winnipeg much in the way of options.

Dreger pointed out a key problem is that a lot of contending teams already have a stable solution in net, and their only use for a trade like adding a three time Vezina Trophy winner in Hellebuyck would be mainly for an upgrade.

These teams, viewing Hellebuyck as merely an upgrade, have been wanting him “at a discount price, want a bargain basement return,” according to Dreger. Meanwhile, teams that would love to add Hellebuyck as a meaningful solution to their problem in net, like the Montreal Canadiens or Edmonton Oilers, are both still in Canada, adding another layer of complexity to any deal.

This past Thursday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, on a new episode of his podcast 32 Thoughts, gave a large update on the situation, saying that among the teams that have sent offers was the Florida Panthers, who had made an offer for Hellebuyck.

However, several of the pieces involved have since been dealt elsewhere, including draft capital sent to Ottawa in the Brady Tkachuk trade, along with Florida’s decision to move on from Evan Rodrigues to New Jersey. Florida has since pivoted to adding Jacob Markstrom in net, with that avenue appearing closed.

As for rumored landing spots, Friedman named the Buffalo Sabres, Utah Mammoth and Carolina Hurricanes as the biggest remaining contenders, while expressing uncertainty about the New Jersey Devils.

Other contenders that either don’t need a goaltender or would only use Hellebuyck as an upgrade include the Tampa Bay Lightning, with reigning Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Dallas Stars and Jake Oettinger, the Washington Capitals and Logan Thompson, and the New York Islanders and Ilya Sorokin. Colorado and Minnesota each have a pair of stable netminders they would need to break up in a Hellebuyck trade, and while either would have a solid number one, it would require other moves rather than keeping a stable pair together.

Also on that list are the Utah Mammoth and Karel Vejmelka, the Carolina Hurricanes and Brandon Bussi, the Anaheim Ducks and Lukas Dostal, and the San Jose Sharks and Yaroslav Askarov.

Some potential options that have possibly been explored include the obvious name in the Buffalo Sabres, who almost added Hellebuyck at the trade deadline, and the Vegas Golden Knights, who have a less than stable goalie tandem with Carter Hart and Adin Hill and could have Hellebuyck as a solid number one, and would have the NHL ready pieces to facilitate a return that Winnipeg would like.

Another possibility could be the Los Angeles Kings, who will enter the season with a 36 year old expiring free agent in Darcy Kuemper and would be an easy sell to have Hellebuyck join a contender that lives in Los Angeles.

Lastly, and one of the easiest answers, is New Jersey, as the Devils have just a veteran in Jake Allen and an inexperienced backup in Nico Daws, with Hellebuyck being an easy solution for their number one spot and a move that would be closer to home for Hellebuyck and his family in Michigan.

Another complication is that no trade lists reset on July 1, and Friedman explained that some players who could’ve been subject to a move to Winnipeg as part of a Hellebuyck package may have since added the Jets to their no trade lists.

Friedman didn’t confirm whether Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was one of those players who may have added Winnipeg to a five team no trade list, but he did note he’s aware of players in that situation making the switch to block a potential move. He also noted the Jets still want to compete and doesn’t believe they want futures coming back in a Hellebuyck deal, wanting NHL ready pieces instead.

With more and more reports suggesting the difficulty behind moving Hellebuyck, it appears the end is not in sight for Winnipeg.

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