Connor Hellebuyck isn't reporting to Jets camp, and Winnipeg has been left with nothing to do but suspend him.
That's where this landed. No trade, no resolution, just a suspension in the third week of September.
Elliotte Friedman then went on 32 Thoughts and laid out what Winnipeg could have had instead.
Florida was the first team that came up, Friedman said. Bill Zito was very interested, long before the Panthers went and got Jacob Markstrom.
The package was Evan Rodrigues, the picks that went to Ottawa in the Brady Tkachuk trade, and one roster player.
Not Anton Lundell, Friedman made a point of saying. You'd need a crowbar to pry that one out of Zito's hand.
Those were the 9th and 25th overall selections in the draft. Not late firsts, not conditional ones.
"I think Florida was the first team that came up to be honest," revealed Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "I think they were very interested in Hellebuyck."
Jets suspend Connor Hellebuyck after rejecting blockbuster Panthers trade package
The ninth became Keaton Verhoeff, after Ottawa flipped it to San Jose in the William Eklund trade.
Ottawa used the 25th on Jonas Lagerberg Hoen. Two first rounders, a roster forward, and another body on top of it.
Friedman's verdict on all of it was one sentence. That deal wasn't enough for the Jets.
Put that beside a suspension notice and it reads a little differently. Kevin Cheveldayoff wanted more and now he has a holdout.
The package doesn't exist anymore either. Florida spent those picks prying Tkachuk out of Ottawa.
Carolina, New Jersey and Buffalo have all surfaced since. Whatever arrives now gets measured against the one Winnipeg waved off.
Friedman also reported Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has the Jets on his no-trade list, which muddies the Buffalo route considerably.
Winnipeg lost 5-2 in Edmonton on Saturday, with Thomas Milic facing 27 shots and stopping 23 of them.
Kyle Connor already said a return would be a tough situation to walk into. Gabriel Vilardi said he's staying and riding it out.
Colorado visits Winnipeg on Monday. Scott Arniel answers for all of it either way.
So what is a suspended goaltender worth now? Holding out for a better price works like turning down the first offer on a house in a falling market. Sometimes the phone just stops.
Cheveldayoff still controls the timeline on paper. The player took a piece of that back this week, and there's no version where the Jets won it.
Should Kevin Cheveldayoff have taken Florida's two first round picks?
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