The Winnipeg Jets’ move to trade Connor Hellebuyck may have been about more than ending a contract standoff. According to Elliotte Friedman, the club also wanted to keep the situation from spilling into public view.
On his latest 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman said there was a sense Hellebuyck might speak out, and Winnipeg did not want that to happen. Friday was the end of the suspension the Jets had handed down after Hellebuyck missed training camp without permission, which meant the team would have had to start paying him again. But that was only part of the picture.
The bigger issue, Friedman suggested, was that Hellebuyck had told the team he would come to Winnipeg for a physical - a step required before he could be paid. That trip would have put him in front of reporters. And while both sides had kept things civil in public during the standoff, Friedman said there was real concern that any media availability could turn the whole thing into a public back-and-forth.
“Nobody wanted that,” Friedman said of a potential he-said, they-said fight, particularly the players. “I think if Hellebuyck had spoken, the gloves would have gone off. And I think the Jets would have responded in kind.”
“There was a chance that Hellebuyck was going to talk to the media, that he was going to make himself available. And look, regardless of what anyone feels about all this, and who they think is right and who they think is wrong and whatever, while this has caused incredible strain on everyone involved, people were trying to be respectful of each other.”
Friedman also said the Jets’ leadership group met in Dallas to talk through what came next, and that the sense inside the room was that everyone wanted the matter finished. He described that group as mature and blunt. After the team flew back from Dallas late Thursday night, players reportedly believed the end was close.
There was also an arrangement being discussed that would have kept Hellebuyck out of Winnipeg until this week. Even then, the possibility remained that whatever he had to say could still surface.
Now with the Devils, Hellebuyck has already made a brief public statement, saying he has a lot to say but would wait, with the Heritage Classic coming up. The indication from insiders is that he still has something on his mind.
Friedman said New Jersey might try to talk him into letting it go, though there’s no guarantee he’ll be persuaded. Even with the trade finally done, the situation may not be as simple as moving on. Another round of comments would almost certainly bring a response from Winnipeg and keep the whole thing alive when both sides would rather leave it behind.
For now, the focus turns to Hellebuyck’s debut. The Devils are in Dallas on Tuesday and Colorado on Wednesday, and some expect him to play in one of those games.
The next big marker on the calendar is November 10, when he returns to Winnipeg. What he says then may be the real story.
In Other News...
Hurricanes Just Missed On A Goalie Move Fans Will Feel
The market for a top-tier goalie can move quickly, and the Carolina Hurricanes were right in the middle of it as they tried to pry Connor Hellebuyck away from Winnipeg. Multiple trade ideas were explored, but the Jets asking price was never fully met, leaving Carolina to keep searching while other clubs kept tabs on the same opportunity.
For Devils fans, the more relevant twist is that New Jersey was the team that got the deal done. In a race where one contender kept trying to bridge the gap and came up short, the Devils emerged with the kind of move that can reshape a season, and the fallout from Carolinas near miss only makes the swap look even more consequential around the division. [Read more 🡒]
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Connor Hellebuyck finally stepped onto the ice for his first practice with the Devils after arriving from Winnipeg in the multi-asset deal that immediately changed the look of New Jerseys roster. It was the sort of first glimpse fans had been waiting on since the trade, a chance to see how a major acquisition fits into a new locker room and a new structure.
Around the league, the ripple effects of the goalie market keep showing up in real time, with Logan Thompson and Jakob Chychrun leaving Capitals practice early because of injuries, including Thompsons lower-body issue. Elsewhere, Taylor Hall was back with the Hurricanes after his own lower-body injury, while newly signed Alexander Nikishin still had not rejoined Carolina after putting pen to paper on his one-year deal. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Just Saw How Fast Colorado Can Suddenly Look Vulnerable
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Scott Wedgewood did not give Colorado the steady presence it needed, and the defensive breakdowns around him only made the slide harder to stop. The bigger concern, though, is that the problems have not been isolated to one bad night. The effort has looked inconsistent, the defense has been leaky in recent losses, and the Avalanche will need a sharper sense of urgency if they want to get back on track before the season starts asking tougher questions. [Read more 🡒]