Connor Hellebuyck looked like a real fit for the Buffalo Sabres, but the deal never got over the line.
According to the reporting around the talks, Hellebuyck appeared willing to head to Buffalo, yet the trade discussions with the Winnipeg Jets fell apart and it’s no longer clear whether those conversations will pick back up. The Sabres have depth in goal, but Hellebuyck would have given them the kind of star presence they don’t currently have in net.
The sticking point, as it turns out, was the draft compensation. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman laid out the issue on his new 32 Thoughts podcast.
“Buffalo was like, ‘No, if we’re giving you the fourth overall pick, we have to get the eighth overall pick back,'” Friedman said on his podcast. “I think Winnipeg wanted both of those picks, and that’s why it didn’t happen.”
In other words, Buffalo was willing to let Winnipeg move up a little, but not to hand over another first-round pick on top of that. The Jets, though, were pushing for two picks in the top 10.
That makes the missed deal a little surprising, since Hellebuyck would have been a major addition for Buffalo. Even so, the two sides could always circle back to the idea. The problem now is that the draft has passed, which makes future-pick discussions trickier and means any deal would likely have to involve active contracts, with all the complications that can bring.
For now, Hellebuyck remains in Winnipeg, but his future there still doesn’t look settled. That leaves the door open for the Sabres to take another shot if they decide to get back to the table.
In Other News...
Why The Jets Could Be At The Center Of NHL's Next Fight
The next round of NHL labor talks may not be centered on the usual salary-cap flashpoints. Instead, one of the issues likely to draw real attention is the growing debate over no-trade and no-movement clauses, the kind of contract language that gives players control over where they can and cannot be dealt. Elliotte Friedman said the topic is expected to come up in the next CBA negotiations, with some teams wanting to curb that level of player control.
For Winnipeg, the discussion has an obvious local edge because the Jets have already lived through the complications that come with those clauses. Friedman noted that Commissioner Gary Bettman has not made the issue a priority in the current CBA, but it is the sort of problem that tends to resurface once teams start pushing for more flexibility. If the league does revisit it, the Jets could find themselves right in the middle of a fight that extends well beyond one roster decision. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Wont Like The Latest Connor Hellebuyck Trade Buzz
For a Jets team that has built so much of its identity around Connor Hellebuyck, any fresh trade buzz is bound to land with a thud in Winnipeg. Recent reports have kept his name in the rumor mill, with NHL executives speculating that Colorado might have at least explored the idea of getting involved, while other clubs like Buffalo and Carolina were also mentioned in more advanced conversations.
Nothing concrete has come out of the Avalanche angle, and Hellebuyck is still in Winnipeg for now, which is the part that matters most to Jets fans. Even so, the fact that one of the leagues premier goaltenders keeps surfacing in trade chatter is enough to keep the temperature up around a team that would rather be talking about stability in net than wondering who might come calling next. [Read more 🡒]