Connor Hellebuyck's name just landed in a place nobody was really talking about.
Michael Amato said this week Colorado is a "sneaky team" worth wondering about as a landing spot for the Winnipeg Jets goaltender.
"Would have to send Blackwood back and move some other things out/around, but think it's possible if there's mutual interest," Amato wrote.
Mackenzie Blackwood posted a .903 save percentage across 38 games this season, with three shutouts for the Avalanche.
That's a serviceable number, not the kind that locks down a net heading into a serious Stanley Cup push.
Hellebuyck, by comparison, put up a .895 save percentage over 57 games for a Winnipeg team that finished well outside the top of the league.
"Sneaky team I wonder about for Connor Hellebuyck - Colorado. Would have to send Blackwood back and move some other things out/around, but think it's possible if there's mutual interest. "
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Avalanche could sacrifice Mackenzie Blackwood for Connor Hellebuyck
Colorado finished last season 55-16-11, tops in the league with a plus-99 goal differential. This is a roster built to win now, not develop.
Adding a Vezina winner in net would remove the one lingering question mark on an otherwise stacked lineup heading into the playoffs.
The mechanics get complicated fast, though. Hellebuyck carries a $8,500,000 cap hit, and fitting that number alongside Cale Makar's looming extension is no small puzzle.
Amato's framing, sending Blackwood back and moving other pieces, suggests this wouldn't be a simple one-for-one swap even if both sides wanted it.
Jared Bednar has never had a true workhorse starter of Hellebuyck's caliber during this era in Colorado. That alone makes the idea worth floating publicly.
Winnipeg, for its part, has been dragging its feet on any Hellebuyck move, with the calendar working against a clean trade the longer this goes.
Nothing here suggests real momentum yet, just an insider connecting dots that make hockey sense. Mutual interest is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that quote.
Whether Colorado actually calls Winnipeg, or this stays a name floated on social media, is the part nobody's confirmed.
Should the Avalanche pursue a trade for Connor Hellebuyck?
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