Connor Hellebuyck remains a Winnipeg Jets for now, and the front office seems in no hurry to change that.
Insider David Pagnotta reported Friday that there's still a reluctant willingness on both sides to have those trade conversations with other clubs.
But his read was blunt. If something were close, it would probably already be done.
David Pagnotta: Re Connor Hellebuyck/Jets: By every indication there's still a reluctant willingness to have those conversations with other teams; if something were close it'd probably be done by now.
That's the kind of line that tells you more than a straight "no deal" ever could.
Hellebuyck carries an $8,500,000 cap hit, a number that complicates any quiet, low-key trade talk around him.
His last campaign in net wasn't the vintage version Winnipeg has leaned on for years. He finished 18-23-8 with a .895 save percentage across 57 appearances.
The Jets themselves stumbled to the finish line, dropping their final four games and going 5-5-0 over their last 10 outings.
Why Winnipeg's goaltending math still doesn't add up
Head coach Scott Arniel and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff have steered this roster since 2024 and 2011 respectively, so continuity isn't the issue here.
The issue is what a $260-goals-against team does with its highest-paid goaltender if the trade market never materializes.
Winnipeg finished 35-35-12, good for 82 points and a minus-29 goal differential on the year. That's not a number teams build around.
Is Hellebuyck simply expensive insurance now, or is he still the guy who can flip this franchise back into a contender? Depends who you ask in that Winnipeg locker room.
Pagnotta's framing suggests nobody around the league is pushing hard enough to force Cheveldayoff's hand.
And until somebody does, Hellebuyck stays a Jet by default, not by conviction.
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That's a strange place for a franchise goaltender to sit heading into a new season, wanted just enough to keep the phone ringing, but not enough to get moved.
Should the Jets actively shop Connor Hellebuyck this off-season?
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