Connor Hellebuyck’s road to New Jersey was anything but straightforward.
According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Winnipeg Jets had real trade conversations with multiple teams before the deal came together elsewhere, and each potential landing spot broke down for a different reason. On his latest 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman walked through the clubs he believes were genuinely in the mix and explained where things unraveled.
Florida was one of the earliest serious suitors, and Friedman said it may have even been Hellebuyck’s preferred destination at one point before the picture widened. The issue, though, was Winnipeg’s side of the table.
The Panthers reportedly offered a package centered on a player and draft picks, but the Jets weren’t convinced by the players involved or by the idea of getting a goalie back. At the time, Winnipeg needed one, since it didn’t have Stuart Skinner or Clay Stevenson.
Florida’s offer also disappeared because the Panthers didn’t have a goalie to include.
The names circulating in those talks included Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen, and the draft picks Florida eventually sent to the Ottawa Senators in the Brady Tkachuk deal. Anton Lundell, Friedman said, was never in the mix.
By the time the Jets became more comfortable with their goaltending situation relative to where it would have been without Hellebuyck at the June draft, the Panthers had already moved those picks. As Friedman put it, if Winnipeg had the chance to revisit that package now, “It’s all guesswork,” he said.
Buffalo was another team that generated plenty of chatter, but that conversation also hit a wall. Friedman said he heard the Sabres had concerns about the injury history of one player Winnipeg asked about, and he also couldn’t see another rumored name being included.
The main obstacle, though, came down to draft capital. The Jets wanted a pick swap in the deal: Winnipeg was set to get Buffalo’s 4th overall pick, while the Sabres wanted the 8th overall pick in return.
The Jets wouldn’t agree to that.
Utah was in the hunt too, and Friedman was direct about that. He said the Mammoth were “absolutely” part of the mix at one point, though he doesn’t know exactly what they put forward.
His read is that Utah backed away because it couldn’t move Karel Vejmelka as part of the arrangement. He also raised the possibility of timing or contract complications, whether the deal would have landed before or after free agency opened on July 1, but said he doesn’t know which was the deciding factor.
Carolina pushed hard as well, but that pursuit came down to personnel the Hurricanes refused to move. Friedman said the club wanted Hellebuyck badly, and GM Eric Tulsky worked the phones because he wouldn’t part with Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, or Seth Jarvis.
The Jets were looking for a forward they could use or move along, and Carolina couldn’t land on one that fit. Friedman said a source told him the Hurricanes were “aggressive” and trying to identify exactly who Winnipeg wanted, but they never found the piece that would make the deal work.
He added that it sounds like they’re quite upset they couldn’t make it happen.
Friedman was careful not to claim he had every detail nailed down. “I don’t know if I’ll ever find out everything for sure,” he said, while stressing that these were the teams he believes were truly involved.
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