Winnipeg Still Has Connor Hellebuyck, and Nobody Knows for How Long

The most consequential unresolved situation in the NHL right now belongs to a team that plays in front of 15,000 people. Connor Hellebuyck is still a Winnipeg Jet in the third week of August, and neither the player nor the general manager has done anything since June to make the next move obvious.

Kevin Cheveldayoff addressed it publicly on June 26, the morning of the draft, and did not deny anything. “Obviously it’s that time of the year, right? Everyone’s talking about ways to improve their team or different things like that,” he said. “Certainly, as an organization, we’re going to listen.” Asked whether Hellebuyck had formally requested a trade, Cheveldayoff would not confirm it, pointing instead at the deal both sides agreed to: “At the end of the day, we both chose to sign a seven-year extension.” Pressed on whether anything he had heard moved him, he was blunter. “Well, obviously what I’ve been hearing hasn’t made me act. I guess the best answer is I’m still listening.”

TSN’s Darren Dreger has reported that Hellebuyck would welcome a change of scenery, while stopping short of confirming a formal request. Two months later, that is still roughly where the public record sits.

The leverage runs both ways

Hellebuyck signed a seven-year, $59.5 million extension on Oct. 9, 2023. Five seasons remain on it at an $8.5 million cap hit, running through 2030-31, and it carries a full no-movement clause. That clause is the entire negotiation. Winnipeg cannot send him anywhere he does not approve, and no team is surrendering a real package for a 33-year-old goaltender who might veto the destination. Cheveldayoff’s read on the market was that it comes down to appetite: “It’s going to depend on how bad a team wants something.”

The other complication is that Hellebuyck is coming off the strangest season of his career. He went 23-23-11 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage, numbers that would have been unrecognizable from him two years ago, and he had knee surgery in November. He then went to Milan and backstopped Team USA to Olympic gold in February. Depending on which of those you weight, he is either a three-time Vezina winner in a down year or a goaltender the Jets should sell while somebody still believes.

Winnipeg spent July acting like a team preparing for both outcomes

On July 1 the Jets signed Stuart Skinner to a two-year contract worth $7.5 million, a $3.75 million annual cap hit for a 27-year-old who went 23-17-9 with an .888 save percentage last season split between Edmonton and Pittsburgh. That is not a backup’s contract, and the timing did not go unnoticed. Winnipeg also locked up Cole Perfetti on a five-year, $30 million deal to avoid arbitration.

Perfetti, asked about his goaltender days later, sounded exactly like a player who reads the same reports everyone else does. “We know as much as everyone else in the city of Winnipeg,” he said. “We’re very anxious to know too, I think everyone is.” He added that the room’s position is not complicated. “It’s pretty obvious everyone wants to continue to be his teammate and continue to play with him.”

The Jets open at home against Boston on Oct. 2 and host Montreal outdoors at Princess Auto Stadium on Oct. 25 for the Heritage Classic. Both of those dates would look very different with a different goaltender in the crease, and right now nobody in Winnipeg can tell you which one they are getting.

Odds and market references describe the situation at the time of writing. You must meet the legal gambling age in your province or territory. See responsible gambling.