Connor Hellebuyck’s trade situation has moved into a trickier stage, and the list of possible landing spots is thinner than it looked earlier in the summer.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said the situation has become more complicated, even though Hellebuyck still wants it settled before training camp. The Jets goalie has already made his request public, but nothing has actually been completed yet. As Friedman put it, “I think it’s complicated, and I think the biggest question is ‘What pressure do the Jets feel, if any?'”
Inside the Winnipeg room, the story has become part personal, part business. Dylan DeMelo said, “For me, individually, it’s an extra wrinkle.
We’re friends. Our wives are friends, we have kids the same age playing hockey together and all that stuff.
It’s definitely a hard situation overall. I’ve never been a part of something like this.”
Still, the message from the team has been to keep moving. Captain Adam Lowry said on Tuesday, “It’s not something that we think is going to really impact the room” “Until that situation is resolved, we’re going to approach it… he’s our teammate, our friend, and go from there.”
DeMelo added, “We can’t let that be a distraction. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
In regards to his comments, that’s his business and for him to answer. For us, it’s about getting ready for camp and focusing on the guys we’ve got here.”
The chatter around Hellebuyck heated up around the NHL draft, then cooled off when no deal materialized. It has flared again after Hellebuyck and his agent said they asked for a trade months ago and that he feels it’s best to move on. Friedman said, “Anytime that something like that comes out, Jameson, it says to me that he would like this to be sorted out before the season, before camp.”
The issue now is that some of the pieces that were available earlier in the summer are gone. Friedman reported that two teams had been seriously involved and had offers out there, but those options have shifted because of other draft-day moves.
Florida was one of the clubs in the mix, but it spent the assets it may have used on Hellebuyck to land Brady Tkachuk. Friedman asked, “Does Florida have anything that still makes sense?”
Buffalo was another serious player, with the fourth-overall pick as a key part of the discussion. Friedman said, “I think that was key to the deal.”
The Jets wanted the 4th pick and wanted to keep their own 8th-overall pick. Buffalo was willing to do that, but the draft came and went without a trade, and the Sabres made their selection, Daxon Rudolph.
Friedman asked, “Now, can you still make a deal?”
There are also complications tied to no-trade lists, which changed when July 1st arrived. Friedman pointed out that some players who might have been included in a package may now have the ability to block a move to Winnipeg.
Another wrinkle: the Jets may be looking for a goalie as part of any return, so they can come out of the deal with a workable tandem and a netminder to pair with Stuart Skinner.
As for who is still in the picture, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun said, “The Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres and Utah Mammoth are among the possibilities on the Connor Hellebuyck trade front.” He also confirmed Florida’s interest was real back in June, but said, “The Florida Panthers, as we reported at the time, showed real interest in June, but between the assets spent on the Brady Tkachuk blockbuster and the Jacob Markstrom acquisition, that ship has obviously sailed.”
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