As training camp looms, interest in the three-time Vezina winner has cooled. With Winnipeg prepared to address the stalemate, several contenders remain lurking for the elite netminder.
As the Winnipeg Jets near training camp, the trade saga doesn't appear to be progressing with superstar goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
On Monday's episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman explained the trade front has gone quiet with the three time Vezina Trophy winner. Friedman explained, "I don't think there's anything percolating right now really; anything can change with one phone call, but on the weekend it was pretty quiet."
TSN's Darren Dreger agreed on Tuesday, saying the level of interest around the league in Hellebuyck has cooled off considerably since the draft.
Hellebuyck is coming off a down season by his standards, finishing 2025-26 with a 23-23-11 record, a 2.86 goals against average and a .895 save percentage, a steep drop from his back to back Vezina campaigns, when he combined for an 84-31-7 record, a 2.19 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
With the Jets set to open camp Thursday, Dreger doesn't expect Hellebuyck to be there. He added that the organization plans to address the situation publicly sometime Wednesday or Thursday, right as the rest of the team gets to work.
As for where Hellebuyck could still land, Friedman named the Buffalo Sabres, Utah Mammoth and Carolina Hurricanes as the most realistic remaining fits, while saying he's less sure about where the New Jersey Devils stand.
A few other teams remain worth watching. Buffalo already came close to landing Hellebuyck at last season's trade deadline. Vegas has an unsettled tandem in Carter Hart and Adin Hill, along with both the need and the NHL ready assets to put together a package Winnipeg might actually like.
Los Angeles is staring down an offseason where 36-year-old Darcy Kuemper hits free agency, making a Hellebuyck arrival an easy sell in a market like that. And New Jersey remains one of the more obvious fits on paper, with just veteran Jake Allen and unproven Nico Daws currently penciled in, plus the added bonus of putting Hellebuyck closer to his family back in Michigan.
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