The idea of Buffalo making a run at Connor Hellebuyck sounds a lot better than the price tag that’s being floated around.
The Sabres had already poked around on the All-Star goalie before the 2026 NHL Draft, when general manager Jarmo Kekalainen checked on his availability and came away after hearing Winnipeg might want winger Zach Benson or the No. 4 overall pick. Now Hellebuyck has formally gone public with his trade request ahead of the new season, and that naturally opens the door to another round of speculation.
But if the Jets are really looking for the kind of package Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet tossed out in a mock deal, Buffalo should keep walking.
Dixon suggested the Sabres may have to send Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as a baseline. He wrote, "Reasonable-case scenario is you're getting a good second-liner (Helenius) and fantastic third-liner (Kulich) to buttress a secondary scoring crew that already has Cole Perfetti in the mix and [Viggo] Bjorck coming this season or next," Dixon wrote. "Best case is you snagged two guys who can play somewhere on the first two lines, but because they haven't done that yet, Buffalo was willing to part with them."
That’s a massive ask, and for Buffalo it should be a nonstarter.
Helenius is the piece the Sabres absolutely cannot touch. The 2024 first-round pick put up 63 points, with 21 goals and 42 assists, in 63 AHL games for the Rochester Americans last season, then looked like one of Buffalo’s most dangerous forwards after joining the playoff lineup in the second round.
If the Sabres have a true first-line center in the system, Helenius is the guy. At 20 and still ascending, he’s not the type of player you move for a goalie with real risk attached.
And once you start layering in more value - Kulich, Luukkonen, maybe even another premium asset - the price gets out of hand fast from Buffalo’s side.
None of that is meant to dismiss what Hellebuyck has been. He’s got the résumé of a future Hockey Hall of Famer, and if he bounces back, he could change the Sabres in a hurry. But the warning signs are impossible to ignore: he’s 33, he just posted the worst season of his career with a .895 save percentage in 57 games, and he struggled in his last three playoff runs with Winnipeg, finishing at .870 in 23 appearances.
Then there’s the contract. Hellebuyck carries an $8.5 million cap hit through 2031, which makes the downside even sharper if last season was the beginning of a decline.
That doesn’t mean Buffalo should shut the door entirely. After watching Luukkonen and Alex Lyon falter in the team’s long-awaited return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Sabres should at least keep Hellebuyck on the radar.
Still, there’s a strong case that the smarter move is patience.
Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald came to that conclusion when reacting to the reported Winnipeg asking price, writing, "That would be a steep price for a goalie who could beginning an inevitable decline," Hoppe wrote in response to the Jets' rumored asking price. "The Sabres would be better off running it back with the same goalies in the upcoming season."
That’s not a wild take. Buffalo’s three-goalie rotation of Luukkonen, Lyon and Colten Ellis ranked third in the NHL in team save percentage in 2025-26, and it played a major role in the club’s in-season turnaround.
Luukkonen has had his ups and downs, but he has posted starter-level numbers in two of the past three seasons, including a .910 save percentage in 2023-24 and a .909 mark in 2025-26. Lyon gave the Sabres steady veteran work while UPL was hurt. Ellis, meanwhile, showed promise as a rookie even if he often went long stretches without getting a start.
So Buffalo can wait. It can open the season with the same group and see whether the goaltending is really the problem, then revisit the market later if needed.
What it shouldn’t do is pay a king’s ransom for Hellebuyck. With the recent numbers, the age, the contract and the trade request all in the mix, it’s tough to see the Jets getting three or four premium pieces back for a goalie at this stage of his career.
Training camp could change the pressure points in Winnipeg, and it’ll be worth watching whether Kevin Cheveldayoff eases off his demands or digs in all the way. For now, though, the Sabres have every reason to pass on an absurd asking price.
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Colten Ellis spent his rookie NHL season making the kind of steady case Buffalo likes to see from a goalie pushing for more work. In 16 games, he showed enough poise to look comfortable at the top level, while his track record at the American League level has already marked him as a reliable option in the organizations pipeline.
The real question now is how the Sabres sort out the crease as Ellis heads into the final year of his current deal. He could be in line for a larger role next season, but Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are also under contract, which gives Buffalo a crowded situation to weigh before it decides how much room there is for Ellis to keep climbing. [Read more 🡒]
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Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius are the names to watch most closely as the competition tightens, because there is only so much room for both to keep climbing at once. If the Sabres decide one of their younger centers still needs more runway, Rochester is the likely next stop, which makes this a camp battle with real consequences for a player trying to turn promise into an NHL job. [Read more 🡒]
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There is still plenty of development ahead, as there always is with a young defenseman, but Osburn has given Sabres fans real reasons to pay attention. He has shown he can contribute at both ends of the ice, and after the way he handled the jump to college hockey, the next step in his progression should be one worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]