Connor Hellebuyck Confirms Trade Request From Winnipeg Jets
Connor Hellebuyck has publicly confirmed his request for a trade from Winnipeg. The Jets acknowledge his position, but no deal or destination is confirmed.
Quick answers
What has Connor Hellebuyck confirmed about his trade request?
Hellebuyck said he privately requested a move several months earlier and still believed leaving Winnipeg was best for him and his family. The Jets acknowledged his position, but neither side announced a completed trade, destination or timetable.
What must happen before Connor Hellebuyck can be traded?
Winnipeg must find a club able to handle an $8.5 million cap charge and the remaining contract term, agree on a return and account for Hellebuyck's contractual control. Until the Jets announce a transaction, no destination is confirmed.
Connor Hellebuyck has moved his trade request into public view. The Winnipeg Jets goaltender said he asked privately for a move several months ago and still believes leaving is the best path for him and his family.
That is the confirmed development. There is no completed trade, no announced destination and no public timeline for a resolution.
What Hellebuyck and the Jets confirmed
Hellebuyck issued his statement on August 27 through his agent, Ray Petkau. He said he had tried to handle the request quietly while Winnipeg explored its options, but chose to confirm it publicly with training camp approaching.
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff responded that Hellebuyck had been open with the organization about wanting a change. Cheveldayoff said the club would continue working through the situation and added that there was no update on a transaction.
The two statements remove the uncertainty around whether a request exists. They do not establish that Winnipeg is close to making a deal.
The contract shapes the market
Hellebuyck is entering the third season of the seven-year, $59.5 million contract he signed in October 2023. The deal carries an average annual value of $8.5 million.
That term matters because this is not a short rental for a club seeking one playoff run. Any acquiring team would be taking on a long commitment to a 33-year-old goaltender. The contract does not make a trade impossible, but it narrows the question to clubs able to accommodate both the cap charge and the years attached to it.
No responsible assessment can name a likely destination without verified reporting on talks, cap arrangements and Hellebuyck’s contractual control. None of those details has produced a confirmed landing spot.
Winnipeg has another NHL goaltender under contract
The Jets signed Stuart Skinner to a two-year, $7.5 million contract on July 1. Top goaltending prospect Domenic DiVincentiis played 34 games for Manitoba in the American Hockey League last season and has not yet appeared in the NHL.
Those facts give Winnipeg options on its depth chart, but they do not make Hellebuyck easy to replace. He has spent his entire 11-season NHL career with the franchise and, since entering the League in 2015-16, leads NHL goaltenders in games played and starts. He ranks second in wins over that period.
The recent record is mixed, not ambiguous
Hellebuyck went 23-23-11 with a 2.86 goals-against average and .895 save percentage in 57 games last season. Winnipeg finished eight points outside the second Western Conference wild-card position.
One season earlier, he went 47-12-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and eight shutouts. He won both the Hart Trophy and his third Vezina Trophy while the Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy.
Both seasons belong in the evaluation. The latest numbers were below his established standard, while the longer record explains why Winnipeg can still treat him as a major asset rather than a contract it simply needs to move.
What happens next
Jets training camp is scheduled to open on September 16, with Winnipeg’s regular-season opener at home to Boston on October 2. Those dates create pressure for clarity but are not transaction deadlines.
Until Winnipeg announces a deal, the accurate description is straightforward: Hellebuyck has requested a trade, the Jets acknowledge the request, and no destination is confirmed.
Sources: NHL.com report on Hellebuyck’s request and the Winnipeg Jets’ official response.
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.