The Connor Hellebuyck saga in Winnipeg is not over just yet as Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday's edition of his 32 Thoughts podcast that trade discussions between the Jets and the Buffalo Sabres are still ongoing.

Friedman explained to listeners that he still thinks Winnipeg and Buffalo are talking and that he does not believe that chapter is closed.

The news comes days after reports surfaced that the Sabres had presented the Jets with a significant pre-draft offer for the superstar goaltender.

Buffalo's reported package included the fourth overall pick, starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a player believed to be Jack Quinn and at least one additional asset. Hellebuyck himself had reportedly signed off on a move to Buffalo, yet Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff declined to pull the trigger.

With the draft now in the rearview mirror, the negotiating landscape has shifted considerably in Winnipeg's favor. The fourth overall pick was the centerpiece of Buffalo's original offer and that card has already been played when they drafted defenseman Daxon Rudolph. 

How the Sabres reconstruct a comparable package without that asset is one of the central questions hanging over any renewed discussions, and it is hard to imagine Cheveldayoff settling for something less appealing than what he already turned down.

The hesitation from the Jets side has always been rooted in the same concern. Hellebuyck is not simply a starting goaltender.

The 33-year-old Michigan native has been the backbone of everything Winnipeg has built in recent years, the kind of elite netminder capable of single-handedly keeping a team in games and one of the best in the world at his position for several seasons running. 

Replacing him with Luukkonen, a goaltender who showed volatility this past postseason and was not even receiving every start for Buffalo in the playoffs, represents a significant downgrade in net and a real gamble on the team's ability to remain competitive.

That competitive window matters enormously for a Jets organization that still has core pieces like Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey who want to win and want to do it in Winnipeg. 

Any decision involving Hellebuyck cannot be made in isolation. It has to account for what the team looks like in net the day after a trade and whether the returning pieces genuinely move the needle for a team trying to remain a contender.

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