Connor Hellebuyck’s trade request has put the Winnipeg Jets in a spot they don’t visit often: shopping a franchise goaltender after years of building around him.
The request, which Hellebuyck had quietly brought to the organization earlier in the offseason before making public, comes after another rough playoff run. Winnipeg got past the St.
Louis Blues in seven games in Round 1, then fell to the Dallas Stars in six. Hellebuyck’s playoff struggles were back in the spotlight in 2025, and the Jets are now left trying to turn a cornerstone into a meaningful return.
That’s easier said than done. One general manager told Daily Faceoff last week that the goalie market is thin because there simply aren’t many teams looking.
Florida has been floated, but after landing Jacob Markstrom and pushing right up against the cap, it doesn’t look like a clean fit. San Jose was another name in the mix, but an Eastern Conference executive told DFO that a move there is probably unnecessary for GM Mike Grier.
So the conversation has narrowed to three realistic landing spots.
Buffalo sits at the top of the list, and for good reason. The Sabres have been tied to Hellebuyck for a while, and there was even a rumored deal before the NHL Draft that included the fourth overall pick, which eventually became Daxon Rudolph.
That deal never happened, but the fit still makes sense. DFO senior writer Matt Larkin recently floated a package built around Radim Mrtka, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and a first-round pick.
If Buffalo values Mrtka more highly, Jack Quinn could end up in the conversation instead.
Quinn, who turns 25 soon, is coming off a breakout year with 20 goals and 51 points in 82 games. Buffalo has depth on the wing, and Quinn is projected for a middle-six role.
He’s also set to be an RFA next summer, which could make him a name the Sabres are willing to move now rather than face another contract decision later. For Winnipeg, Quinn could fit on the second line and maybe even climb beside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor down the road.
Luukkonen would fill the same goaltending slot as the other proposed return pieces, with more upside than most of them.
Carolina is another club that checks a lot of boxes. Two high-ranking NHL executives approved a potential framework for a deal, with the only disagreement being whether Brandon Bussi or Pyotr Kochetkov would be included. The rest of the package would bring Alexander Nikishin, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and two first-round picks to Winnipeg.
Nikishin is the kind of blue-line addition the Jets could use. He remains unsigned as an RFA, and the left shot has the flexibility to play either side.
He could land on the second pair with Dylan Samberg or on the third pairing next to Mario Ferraro, while also offering some offense after posting 33 points in 81 regular season games as a rookie last season. He’d also be in the mix for second-unit power-play time.
The goalie piece, whether Bussi or Kochetkov, would give Winnipeg a tandem option with Stuart Skinner. Kotkaniemi is the salary piece in the deal, and according to an assistant GM, taking him on at full value is worth a first-round pick. Winnipeg’s center depth is thin, so there is at least some appeal there, even if the package is more about quantity than headline names.
New Jersey rounds out the list. The Devils have been searching for stability in goal for years, and after Sunny Mehta pulled the plug on the Markstrom experiment this summer, Jake Allen and Nico Daws are left as the current tandem. On paper, that opens the door for Hellebuyck.
A proposed package would send Dawson Mercer, Daws and a top-10 protected first-round pick to Winnipeg. Mercer would give the Jets more middle-six scoring and could line up on the right side with Adam Lowry and Cole Perfetti.
Daws, a third-round pick from six years ago, has shown flashes of becoming a regular NHL goaltender but hasn’t put it together consistently, even in the AHL. At 25, he could pair with Skinner and develop into part of a future tandem.
The issue for Winnipeg might be optics. The return would be useful, but maybe not flashy enough for a franchise trying to sell a blockbuster. Still, with the market limited and Hellebuyck’s request now public, the Jets may have to choose value over glamour.
Of the three, Buffalo looks like the most likely destination, and the package there feels like the one that best matches Winnipeg’s needs.
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