Darren Dreger finally explained why Connor Hellebuyck is still in a Winnipeg sweater, and the answer is not flattering for anyone involved.
The clip surfaced overnight through NHL Rumour Report, pulled from the September 14 edition of First Up. It has drawn 9,600 views.
Asked about the trade request, Dreger did not dress it up. The harsh reality, in his words, is that the offers were terrible.
Nobody should be shocked. You are asking a rival to absorb an $8.5 million cap hit for a goaltender who is 33 years old.
The season behind him does not help the pitch. A .895 save percentage over 57 appearances, and not one shutout on the sheet.
The team in front of him was worse. Winnipeg finished 35-35-12 and landed 26th in the league.
They managed 231 goals while giving up 260. Scoring 2.8 per night is how a roster with this much talent ends up nowhere.
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Connor Hellebuyck trade request takes a major hit
Here is the detail that stings. Mark Scheifele carries the exact same cap number and turned it into 103 points.
One of those contracts printed a 36 goal season. The other printed a save percentage that would get a backup waived in a good organization.
The finish was ugly too. Four straight losses to close the year, capped by a 6-1 result against San Jose at home.
So what is the fallback if a deal ever does come together? Stuart Skinner sits at $2.6 million after a .888 mark across 50 games.
Behind him is Thomas Milic, all of 23, with three NHL appearances to his name. That is the depth chart a general manager would be trading into.
The blue line is not waiting to save anybody either. Neal Pionk is on the books at $7 million and delivered 12 points across 51 games.
Pionk is also listed day to day and questionable for the start of the season. So are Alex Iafallo, Morgan Barron and Vladislav Namestnikov.
So who exactly was supposed to overpay here?
Asking for a real return on that contract is like listing a condo at 2021 prices in a market that already corrected. The seller can hold. The buyers just stop calling.
The frustrating part is that the offence is not the problem. Kyle Connor scored 39 times and Gabriel Vilardi buried 13 of his on the power play.
Scott Arniel opens camp with the same goaltender, the same cap hit, and a request that does not expire because July did.
Nothing about that gets easier in October. And every week Winnipeg waits, the asking price drops a little further.
Was Kevin Cheveldayoff right to hold Connor Hellebuyck instead of taking the best offer on the table?
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