Addressing a suspension and underwhelming trade offers, Winnipeg’s front office navigates a strained relationship with their star goaltender while holding firm on the team's high asking price.
On Thursday, Winnipeg Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff spoke to the media about the current state of the Connor Hellebuyck situation.
Cheveldayoff fielded questions for about 25 minutes on what's been happening behind closed doors, where the organization stands and what the outlook is going forward.
The longtime Jets GM started off by explaining that because Hellebuyck did not attend mandatory functions like meeting with medical staff on the team as well as meeting up with the team, the organization has suspended the three-time Vezina trophy winner under protocol laid out for such occasion under the current collective bargaining agreement with the NHL players association.
The message seemingly behind this was Cheveldayoff explaining there isn't malicious intent behind the suspension but rather following simple protocol. This would become a theme of the presser as Cheveldayoff started to speak at length about how the two parties are trying to reach a solution.
When asked on whether or not the rumors were true on if he had made a side agreement with Hellebuyck as well as other Jets on keeping them until they weren't competitive anymore, Cheveldayoff said bluntly "a contract is a contract in the National Hockey League, period. there are no side agreements, there's no general agreements, the league doesn't allow for that. So any notion around that would not have any merit."
Cheveldayoff would go on to speak about the reported "terrible" offers the team had been receiving for Hellebuyck, saying that he wouldn't ever want to disparage an offer made by another GM but rather that the deals presented weren't what they were looking for in terms of it being beneficial to both parties.
This was an interesting bit of information as the Jets likely reportedly recieved offers from contenders in the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers that were deemed not suitable enough for a return. However, this statement could also be alluding to some non-contending teams may have reached out and made offers.
Hellebuyck does have a no-move clause and despite being presented with some favorable offers, Winnipeg may have had their hands tied, knowing he wouldn't be willing to waive to go to a certain team.
Cheveldayoff also explained the goalie market has been difficult to traverse, saying that some teams already have solid solutions and that those teams probably aren't interested. One of the most notable quotes from the entire presser was Cheveldayoff holding strong that the organization still cares about Hellebuyck and views him as one of their own despite everything that has happened.
"Connor Hellebuyck is apart of our family until he's not apart of our family," Cheveldayoff explained.
"At the end of the day, I think there's probably been disagreements in your own families, and you don't say, 'Well, you're not my family member anymore.' You find ways to get around it, and we'll see what way we can find to get around this."
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