A surprising new landing spot has emerged for Connor Hellebuyck

Connor Hellebuyck's next stop might not be Buffalo. According to insider Chad DeDominicis, the San Jose Sharks make sense too.

The Buffalo Sabres angle has been the loudest one this offseason, but DeDominicis threw cold water on it Saturday.

"There would need to be some hoops to be jumped through for Connor Hellebuyck to end up on the Sabres at this point."

Then he pivoted straight to San Jose. "If he's willing to waive, SJ makes a ton of sense," DeDominicis added.

That single word, waive, is doing all the heavy lifting here. Hellebuyck's contract carries real leverage, and it belongs to him.

He's coming off a rough finish in Winnipeg. The Jets closed out an 82 game season at 35-35-12, good for 82 points and 26th overall.

Their last game of the year was a 1-6 blowout loss to San Jose, of all teams, back on April 16.

Why San Jose actually fits Hellebuyck's timeline

Ryan Warsofsky's crease has been a rotation, not a foundation. Askarov posted a .883 save percentage, Nedeljkovic sat at .895, and Comrie landed at .890.

None of that screams playoff-ready number one. San Jose finished 39-35-8, 86 points, 22nd overall, one spot ahead of a full teardown but nowhere close to contending.

Hellebuyck carries an $8,500,000 cap hit, fifth highest among all goalies in the league. That's not a depth-chart signing. That's a franchise bet.

Bringing in a $8.5 million goalie to backstop a rebuild is either patient roster building or a strange use of term. Depends who you ask.

San Jose beat Winnipeg 6-1 in their only head-to-head meeting this season, the same game that closed out the Jets' year.

Coincidence or not, that result is sitting right there in the background of every trade conversation involving these two teams now.

Kevin Cheveldayoff still has to find a taker willing to match term and money, and Mike Grier still has to decide if a 33 year old goalie fits a rebuild timeline.