Three very different NHL storylines landed on the same day, and each one says something about where those teams stand right now. In Edmonton, a rumor that goalie prospect Samuel Jonsson wanted out turned out to be empty.
In Winnipeg, Connor Hellebuyck’s trade situation is starting to look worse by the day. And in Montreal, Martin St.
Louis just cashed in on the kind of turnaround that looked like a gamble when it began.
Jonsson is not going anywhere.
The Oilers prospect shut down the talk that he was unhappy and might head back to Sweden, saying he had no idea where the rumors came from. He said he was at home when management texted him to ask what was happening, and his answer was simple: he had already planned to come over and start the season.
Now he’s at rookie camp, and he sounds energized by what he sees in Edmonton’s goalie room. Jonsson said the competition makes him sharper every day.
He also said he’s enjoying the move to North American hockey, noting how much faster the game is and how many more shots he’s seeing than he did in Sweden. He’s listed as the third-string goalie on the roster, and he’ll get his next look Monday night when Edmonton’s rookies face Calgary.
Winnipeg’s Hellebuyck situation, meanwhile, is headed in the opposite direction.
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Jets are getting calls, but the trade offers for Connor Hellebuyck have been poor. That’s the ugly part of a public request: once everyone knows a star wants out, the leverage starts to disappear. The longer this drags on, the harder it gets for Winnipeg to squeeze out real value.
That leaves the Jets with an unappealing choice. They can wait and hope a better offer eventually shows up, or they can settle for less and try to put the issue to bed before the season begins. Either way, this one doesn’t look close to resolution.
Montreal’s news was the cleanest of the bunch.
The Canadiens gave Martin St. Louis a multi-year extension, rewarding a coach who has steadily turned the franchise around since taking over in 2022 with no pro coaching experience.
What started as a bold hire has become one of hockey’s better success stories. Montreal’s point total has climbed every season under him, from 68 to 106 last year, and that jump came with a run to the Eastern Conference Final.
St. Louis has built his reputation as a communicator and teacher rather than a hard-driving disciplinarian, and that approach has fit a young roster that needed exactly that.
Now the bar is changing. Montreal is no longer just trying to be relevant in the playoff race.
The next step is becoming a real contender, and that means St. Louis will be judged on playoff results and on whether he can turn this group into a championship-calibre team.
In Other News...
Jets Prospects Gave Fans A Reason To Watch This Fall
Before the real games arrive for Winnipeg, the organization got an early look at some of its future talent at the 2026 Prospect Challenge in Quebec. The Jets prospects left with a split in their two outings, beating Canadiens prospects and then dropping a close one to Toronto, but the event offered more than just a scoreline. It gave fans a chance to see how the next wave is starting to take shape as the club keeps one eye on a home opener against Boston and the bigger spotlight of the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic against Montreal.
Viggo Bjork, the Jets first-round pick, made an immediate impression in the opener with a goal and an assist, while goaltender Samuel Hrenak helped steady things with 22 saves in the win. Those are the kinds of performances that matter in September, when young players are trying to show they can handle the pace and pressure that comes with pro-level competition. For Winnipeg, the bigger picture is still training camp, and these prospect games served as a useful first step toward that next test. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Just Got Pulled Into Connor Hellebuycks Awkward Trade Standoff
Connor Hellebuycks name is back in the middle of the Winnipeg Jets offseason conversation, and not in a way the team would prefer. Winnipeg is trying to move the veteran goaltender, but the market has not lined up the way the club hoped, with interest failing to produce anything close to a clean resolution as training camp approaches.
The complication, of course, is that Hellebuycks no-trade protection gives him real leverage in where this goes next, and Canadian teams are hardly a simple landing spot. For now, there has been little movement, little clarity and no firm answer on whether he will be with the Jets when camp opens, which leaves Winnipeg in the awkward spot of waiting on a situation it clearly wants settled. [Read more 🡒]
Jets May Need To Revisit A Defenseman They Once Nearly Landed
Alexander Nikishins situation is suddenly one worth monitoring around the league, and not just because Carolina is fresh off a Stanley Cup win. The defenseman has asked the Hurricanes for a trade as he looks for a bigger role and a richer contract, which immediately puts a talented blue-liner back into circulation at a time when teams are always looking for help on the back end.
For Winnipeg, the appeal is obvious because this is a player the Jets were once very close to landing in a different context. Now the question is whether the contract side of the equation can be sorted out quickly enough for a deal to take shape, with Nashville and St. Louis also mentioned among the teams that could get involved if Nikishin is willing to commit long term. [Read more 🡒]