Vezina and Hart Trophy winner is signed through 2030-31 at an AAV of $8.5 million
If there was any doubt about Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck's intentions heading into next season, the Hart and Vezina Trophy winner made it clear late last week when he confirmed through his agent that he has requested a trade. The 33-year-old had knee surgery, and a career-worst .895 save % with the Jets last season, but still played 57 games (23-23-11) and was the key to Team USA’s gold medal victory at the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina.
The Buffalo Sabres were connected to Hellebuyck around the NHL Draft in late June, but Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen and Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could not find common ground on a deal. The conventional wisdom is that now that Hellebuyck has made his trade request public, that Cheveldayoff is not in as strong a negotiating position to get the best deal for the netminder, but he reportedly is open to going to a wide swath of teams.
Unless Hellebuyck is prepared to hold out, Winnipeg could wait into the season for the right return for such a valuable commodity.
The Sabres could be in the mix for Hellebuyck, but deals that had previously been offered that included goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen might be off the table, since he has a five-team no-trade clause that could block a trade to Winnipeg. It is expected that any deal involving Buffalo would include one of their young centers (Noah Ostlund or Konsta Helenius), one of their top prospect defenseman (Daxon Rudolph or Radim Mrtka) and/or an established NHL forward (Jack Quinn or Ryan McLeod).
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Other teams could be in the mix for the veteran netminder, either to get them into the playoff mix, or to elevate them from a consistent postseason entrant to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
San Jose Sharks
Team Status: The Sharks are a young club with a superstar in Macklin Celebrini, and a plethora of young talent, who added to that group with the selection of winger Ivar Stenberg second overall at the 2026 Draft in June. San Jose pushed for a playoff spot with Celebrini scoring a career-high 115 points, but fell four points short.
This summer, former Sabre and Sharks GM Mike Grier addressed the club’s short-handed defense, trading with Edmonton for veteran Darnell Nurse, signing free agent Jacob Trouba, and trading with Buffalo for Michael Kesselring.
Current Goalie Situation: San Jose’s netminding is young, like the rest of the club, with 24-year-old Yaroslav Askarov playing 47 games last season, and veteran Alex Nedeljkovic backing him up. Former Jet and longtime Hellebuyck tandem partner Eric Comrie was signed to a two-year deal this summer as their third-stringer.
Assets To Trade: San Jose is the best fit for the Jets in terms of getting young retainable talent back in a deal for Hellebuyck. Askarov as part of the deal would slot in as the replacement in Winnipeg to partner with Stuart Skinner, and the Sharks had boatloads of youngsters to put in a trade. The best fit might be 19-year-old former second overall pick Michael Misa, who would give Cheveldayoff a young center to slot in behind Mark Scheifele. Other prospects like Quentin Musty could also be part of a deal, but the only roadblock could be whether Hellebuyck wants to play in Northern California.
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