Connor Hellebuyck’s move to the New Jersey Devils came with a few loose ends, and one of them could turn into a grievance.
The biggest wrinkle is financial. Hellebuyck was suspended by the Jets for 18 days, and there was a specific reason that number matched the time he spent away.
According to the report, he was absent from training camp for 18 days before saying he wanted to report back, and the NHL allowed Winnipeg to suspend him for that exact same stretch of time. The question now is whether Hellebuyck and the NHLPA challenge it and try to recover the money.
He has until early December to decide.
There’s also the matter of how close Carolina came to landing him. The Hurricanes were heavily involved and really wanted to get Hellebuyck, but Winnipeg was looking for immediate forward help. Carolina wasn’t willing to part with a Logan Stankoven, Seth Jarvis, or Jackson Blake, and that became a major roadblock.
From there, the Hurricanes tried a more creative route. They reached out to other teams to identify forwards the Jets might want, then explored acquiring one of those players and flipping him to Winnipeg as part of the deal. It never came together, but it shows how hard Carolina pushed to make it work.
As for Hellebuyck’s status in New Jersey, the expectation is that he could be available as soon as this week. The Devils have a back-to-back Tuesday and Wednesday against Dallas and Colorado, and there’s a reminder from last year that when he returned from surgery, he practiced twice and then played. The report says not to be surprised if he appears in one of those two games.
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