Connor Hellebuyck’s trade request has the potential to reshape the Central Division, and the Chicago Blackhawks could end up being one of the biggest long-term winners if he actually leaves Winnipeg.
The Jets goalie’s desire to move was no secret around the league for months, and it was close enough to happening that he was almost dealt at the 2026 NHL Draft. Now that he has gone public, the next question is where he lands. Possible Eastern Conference spots such as Buffalo or Carolina have been floated, and if he exits the Central Division entirely, Winnipeg’s path back to contention gets a lot tougher.
For Chicago, that matters. The Blackhawks have gone 8-24-0 against Hellebuyck’s Jets over the years, and removing a goalie of that caliber from the division would only help them in the long run unless Winnipeg brings back another Vezina Trophy-level netminder.
The Central has been loaded with elite goaltending for a while. Hellebuyck and Dallas Stars star Jake Oettinger are the two top American-born goalies in the division, and both have helped keep their teams near the top while powering deep playoff runs.
Even with no Vezina Trophy winner in Chicago since Ed Belfour in 1993, the Blackhawks are still one of only three Central Division teams to win the Stanley Cup since 2010, alongside Colorado and St. Louis.
The recent Vezina history tells the same story. Four of the last five Western Conference winners dating back to 2006 have come from the Central: Hellebuyck in 2020, 2024 and 2025, plus Pekka Rinne of Nashville in 2018. The lone exception was Marc-André Fleury, who won the award in 2021 with the Vegas Golden Knights, outside the division.
Beyond Hellebuyck and Oettinger, the division’s other notable names include Jordan Binnington in St. Louis and Juuse Saros in Nashville.
Binnington is the only one of that group who has led his team to a Stanley Cup, doing it in 2019. Saros, meanwhile, has become one of the league’s workhorses on a Predators team that sits in that awkward middle ground - not quite a contender, not quite a lottery team.
The depth doesn’t stop there. Jesper Wallstedt in Minnesota, Karel Vejmelka in Utah, Spencer Knight in Chicago, and Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood in Colorado all fit into a Central Division goalie picture that starts with Hellebuyck and changes dramatically if he’s gone.
From Chicago’s perspective, there’s a simpler upside too: fewer dates with a goalie who has owned them for years. Since Hellebuyck entered the NHL a few months after the Blackhawks’ last Stanley Cup in 2015, the two franchises have taken very different roads. Chicago has spent the decade bottoming out and stacking top draft picks around a roster of former Hall of Famers, while Hellebuyck helped push Winnipeg to a Presidents’ Trophy and a Western Conference Final appearance in 2018.
Through 625 games, Hellebuyck has gone 345-208-55, and he has faced the Blackhawks and Stars more than anyone else, 32 times each. Against Dallas, he’s 14-12-6. Against Chicago, he’s been even more brutal: 23-8-1, his most wins against any opponent in the league.
If he ends up outside the Central, the Blackhawks won’t have to see one of the best goalies of this generation every couple of weeks anymore. That alone would be a welcome change, and it could give Chicago a better shot at turning the recent script around against Winnipeg.
In Other News...
Frank Nazar Faces One Big Step In Blackhawks Top Six Push
Frank Nazars place in the Blackhawks future is already secure, but the next step is about where he fits in the present. After signing a seven-year extension last summer, the young forward put together a strong 2025-26 season despite the kind of bumps that can derail a players rhythm, finishing with 41 points in 66 games and continuing the steady rise he showed from the previous year. For a Chicago team still sorting out its top-six group, Nazar has become one of the more important forwards on the roster because of the mix of speed, versatility and growing confidence that coaches and teammates keep pointing to.
The challenge now is less about whether Nazar belongs and more about how quickly he can turn that promise into a bigger role. Head coach Jeff Blashill and teammates have been encouraged by the way he has progressed, and the Blackhawks clearly see a player capable of helping drive their offense in the seasons ahead. Even with the extension and the production, there is still a meaningful step between being a productive young forward and becoming a true top-six fixture, and that is the path Nazar will be trying to open in 2026-27. [Read more 🡒]
Patrick Kanes Return Could Fast Track One Blackhawks Prospect
Patrick Kanes return to Chicago has already changed the conversation around the Blackhawks future, and one of the clearest beneficiaries could be Nick Lardis. The young winger has climbed the organizations ladder as a productive junior scorer, and the appeal is obvious: few players in the game have matched Kanes ability to see the ice, control tempo and set up teammates in space. For a prospect group that still needs offensive polish, having that sort of veteran presence around the team carries real developmental value.
Lardis is part of a broader wave of young Blackhawks talent that could gain from Kanes influence, but his fit is the one drawing the most intrigue. His game has long been built on skill and finish, which makes the idea of learning in the orbit of a player with Kanes creativity especially interesting for Chicago. The club wont rush anything, and there are still plenty of steps between prospect hype and NHL impact, but Kanes presence could help speed up the process in a way the organization has been hoping for. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Pressure Is Rising Around Connor Bedard And This Rebuild
The conversation around Chicago has only grown louder as league observers look ahead to the 2026-27 season, and it is easy to see why. The Blackhawks are still trying to turn a long rebuild into something more durable, with Connor Bedard at the center of everything and a front office under pressure to keep adding the kind of talent that can match his timeline. In a Central Division that is loaded with teams facing their own expectations, Chicagos place in the mix comes with a different kind of scrutiny because the upside is obvious, but so is the amount of work still left to do.
Bowen Byrams arrival only adds another layer to the conversation, giving the Blackhawks a young piece who could matter a lot if the roster keeps taking shape the way they hope. Even so, the bigger question is less about one move than about whether the organization can keep translating promise into progress before the patience around this rebuild starts to narrow. Bedard remains the face of the project, but the pressure now is on Chicago to build fast enough that his development is matched by a team ready to grow with him. [Read more 🡒]