Hellebuyck Didn't Expect A Former Oilers Goaltender To Ruin His Trade Plans

The Winnipeg Jets aren't in a hurry to trade Connor Hellebuyck. Why? A lot of it has to do with a former goaltender for the Edmonton Oilers named Stuart Skinner. 

Skinner signed with the Jets this summer, presumably to work in tandem with Hellebuyck. At the very least, he was a bit of an insurance policy with the uncertainty surrounding Hellebuyck's future with the franchise. What few probably expected would be Skinner's outstanding play to start the 2026-27 season, giving the Jets time to wait out the blockbuster deal that would send their Vezina-caliber goalie elsewhere. 

Through three games, Skinner has a 2-0-1 record and a .920 save percentage, which is among the best in the league so far. These are numbers the Oilers have seen before, but the consistency in which he posted them was an issue. It led to Skinner being traded (along with Brett Kulak) by the Oilers to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Tristan Jarry. 

We can debate the intelligence of that trade another day. 

The story here, however, is Skinner's play in Winnipeg and the fact he's complicating things for Hellebuyck. 

Hellebuyck chose not to report to camp, hoping his sitting out and the Jets struggling without him would speed up a trade. Only that hasn't happened. Instead, Skinner and Clay Stevenson have done more than what's been asked, and the Jets have started hot. It's forced Hellebuyck to sit idle, costing the Jets hundreds of thousands of dollars—which fans have been sarcastically tracking. 

Oilers fans know too well that Skinner's stellar production tends to have a shelf life. The Jets probably know it too, given that they didn't sign him to be a starter. 

That doesn't mean they won't take advantage of the fact that he's offering his best stuff at a time the Jets sorely need it. Skinner was excellent in Winnipeg's recent 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche, stopping 32 of 34 shots. Named first star, he got a big ovation from Jets fans.

Not only do the Jets want to be competitive, but they're eager to show up Hellebuyck, who rubbed a lot of people in Winnipeg the wrong way. 

The more Skinner plays like this, the more Jets fans will love him. In part, because they're happy they have someone holding things down. The rest is out of spite. 

For the Oilers, this could have an indirect impact. They aren't on Hellebuyck's trade list. But, if things continue to look iffy and the netminder runs out of options, one never knows if Edmonton suddenly becomes more attractive. 

See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.