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Latest On Connor Hellebuyck Trade Rumors

July 20, 2023 at 3:00 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu 12 Comments

One of the highest-profile trade candidates who hasn’t yet been dealt to another team, outside of Norris trophy winner Erik Karlsson, is Winnipeg Jets starter Connor Hellebuyck. The 30-year-old is considered by many to be of the few “franchise goalies” left in the NHL, a netminder who a team can build around and consistently count on to post high-end numbers.

But the Michigan native is a pending unrestricted free agent who reportedly wants a contract extension at a $9.5MM AAV, which would put him among the highest-paid goalies in the NHL.

This has led to questions regarding whether the Jets would deal Hellebuyck to another team this summer, rather than risk entering next season with an expiring asset and potentially lose Hellebuyck to the open market in a year’s time.

They traded star center Pierre-Luc Dubois under these same circumstances, though it seems Hellebuyck could be more challenging to move.

Although Hellebuyck is undoubtedly a better goalie than Dubois is a forward, Dubois has the advantage of being younger and being a center. Teams are generally far more comfortable giving productive centers in their mid-twenties long-term, pricey extensions rather than netminders older than 30.

Additionally, the success of the Vegas Golden Knights, who won the Stanley Cup backstopped by Adin Hill  (who hasn’t yet played more than 27 games in a single season) has led some to believe that investing in a costly goalie isn’t a wise use of scarce cap space. All of those factors have contributed to there being a lack of movement at the top of the goalie market.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that this lack of movement could even extend to Hellebuyck, saying to NHL Network that he has been spoken to sources who “wouldn’t be surprised if Hellebuyck starts the year in Winnipeg.”

Friedman cites the Jets’ desire to remain competitive despite trading away Dubois and losing Blake Wheeler as a factor complicating the likelihood Hellebuyck gets dealt. The Jets don’t want to take a step back into a rebuild, meaning they aren’t in a position to trade Hellebuyck for just picks and/or prospects, similar to when the Arizona Coyotes traded Darcy Kuemper to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avalanche sent two draft picks and defensive prospect Conor Timmins, at the time a relatively recent 32nd overall draft choice, to get Kuemper, who like Hellebuyck had one year of team control remaining. Although Hellebuyck’s more impressive resume lends to the belief that he’d require more assets to acquire than Kuemper, contending teams likely won’t be able to send a quality prospect or two and some draft choices to acquire Hellebuyck.

The Jets are likely to want young, NHL-ready, or near-NHL-ready players similar to the crop they received in exchange for Dubois, a package headlined by 2022-23 breakout talent Gabriel Vilardi. But the relatively short list of contending teams looking to add an elite netminder likely has significant overlap with the list of clubs looking to subtract futures to add to their roster, rather than trade away roster players they were counting on for 2023-24.

One team that’s long been speculated as a potential landing spot for Hellebuyck is the New Jersey Devils. Although they lost Damon Severson and Ryan Graves, the Devils added Tyler Toffoli to their forward corps and could see top prospects Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes replace their two defensive losses. The one thing the Devils are missing is an elite goalie, and Hellebuyck fits the bill, though he might not fit into their cap sheet long-term.

The Devils have looked at the possibility of acquiring Hellebuyck, according to Friedman. The team could offer Vitek Vanecek as part of the trade, for example, which could allay the Jets’ fears of being left without a capable goalie to help them reach the playoffs.

But with the Devils potentially unable to afford a pricey long-term extension for the 2019-20 Vezina Trophy winner, they might not be willing to offer up the sort of assets the Jets would want in exchange for Hellebuyck, as he could very well end up a one-year rental if he’s traded to New Jersey.

In any case, despite how strong Hellebuyck’s play has been (he had a .920 save percentage in 64 games for the Jets this past season, second-best among goalies with 50 or more starts) he could be an extraordinarily difficult player to move this offseason.

His value to the Jets could exceed what another team would be willing to trade for him with just one year left on his deal, which could leave the Jets in the dangerous position of attempting to make noise in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a key pillar of the franchise precariously close to an exit on the free agent market.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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New Jersey Devils| Winnipeg Jets Connor Hellebuyck

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View Comments (12)

Comments

  1. Non-tendered

    2 years ago

    NJD, go get Helly for one year. Find an above average goalie for 2024-2025. Vitek, Holtz, and a mid range pick seems fair.

    Reply
    • itsmeheyhii

      2 years ago

      I agree the Devs should just go for it, but a 1B gk, busted prospect and a mid rounder isnt nearly enough to get it done. Gonna cost a first to get talks started.

      1
      Reply
  2. dave frost nhlpa

    2 years ago

    He is going to age as well as Jack Campbell. I would go 3/$21

    Reply
    • wreckage

      2 years ago

      Except he is only 1 year younger than Campbell and already has a far superior track record than Campbell. Campbell has 1 season as a upper teir talent as his outlier, whereas Connor has had maybe one down year compared to his norm as his outlier. Helly is better in everyway besides draft pedigree.

      5
      Reply
  3. Swiney50

    2 years ago

    As sterling as Connor’s reg . season stats are, his Playoff performances have all been busts… this HAS to be a factor in teams not leaping at the chance to pay this dude $9 mil per on an extended deal…

    Until he looks AMAZING in the post-season, he’s gonna keep getting window-shopped every time he becomes available…

    WPG needs to get this guy dealt before it’s too late and he walks out the door leaving them with an empty cereal bowl on the table… lol.

    Reply
    • wreckage

      2 years ago

      Perhaps you would like to look at his stats in the playoffs before commenting. 40gp with a .916sv% and 2.58gaa in his playoff career. In comparison, Vasilevski has a .921sv% and 2.36gaa in his career. The numbers aren’t massively different. Not Connor’s fault his team can’t score enough in the playoffs to advance except against Edmonton.

      1
      Reply
    • Swiney50

      2 years ago

      he’s gotta steal more games IMO… sorry, not sorry

      1
      Reply
    • Nha Trang

      2 years ago

      C’mon. If “failure to win a Cup” means Hellebucyk is a bust, there are a lot of all-time greats out there who are “busts.” Henrik Lundqvist never won a Cup. Roberto Luongo never won a Cup. Pekka Rinne never won a Cup. Ben Bishop never won a Cup.

      Reply
    • Jaysfan1981

      2 years ago

      But yet Adin Hill has his name on the cup

      Life just isn’t fair.

      1
      Reply
    • Swiney50

      2 years ago

      My point about Connor is this: he’s wanting/asking WAAY too much per year given his short Playoff runs and therefore is (IMO) prolly the main factor in teams (so far) balking at bringing him in for a lengthy contract.

      I am NOT throwing any shade at Connor, but he’s saying he should be the highest paid netminder in the NHL? Pass…

      Reply
  4. dano62

    2 years ago

    Winnipeg has virtually no leverage in this because of Hellebuyck’s contract & age; also not enough teams competing to bid up the price. Chevy boxed himself into a corner & will be lucky to get a late first, a B prospect & a younger goalie

    2
    Reply
  5. padam

    2 years ago

    Someone is going to trade for him. Winnipeg might not get everything they hope for, but they should do well on their return. Too many teams that may feel they’re a goalie away.

    Reply

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