Connor Hellebuyck’s standoff with the Winnipeg Jets has gone on long enough that a return is starting to look less like a remote possibility and more like an uncomfortable next step.
The three-time Vezina Trophy winner is still sitting out after asking for a trade in the offseason, and the Jets have kept him suspended while they wait for a deal to come together. Several teams have checked in, but nothing has crossed the finish line, with general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff still holding out for a significant return.
That stalemate may not sit well inside the room if Hellebuyck does end up back in Winnipeg.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the mood among Jets players would not exactly be welcoming.
"I don’t think there are a lot of guys in that room that would be overly happy having him back there,” Pagnotta said, citing sources with the team.
If Hellebuyck chooses to return, the Jets could add another layer of discipline on top of the current suspension before he is allowed back in game shape.
The financial side of this is becoming harder to ignore, too. Hellebuyck is playing under a seven-year, $59.5 million contract with an AAV of $8.5 million, and he carries a full no-movement clause. He has been willing to waive it for preferred destinations, but Winnipeg and potential trade partners still have not found common ground on the package.
And while the holdout continues, the money keeps disappearing.
Hellebuyck’s base salary this season is $7.5 million, and with NHL paychecks spread over the 194 days of the regular season, each day he remains suspended costs him about $38,660. By early this week, a fan-created salary tracker had already pushed the total beyond $500,000, and that number keeps climbing.
Cheveldayoff, for his part, has not slammed the door shut on a reunion.
"No doors are closed. He's a player that's under contract for five years.
But at the end of the day, that's his choice," said GM Cheveldayoff during the training camp. "When Connor requested being traded, we kept it quiet.
That was partly on his request as well. And we tried to make that work and we've been trying to make that work ever since."
For now, the Jets are still waiting, Hellebuyck is still holding out, and the possibility of him walking away from his full salary only adds another pressure point to a situation that has already dragged on far longer than anyone wanted.
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