Connor Hellebuyck made his trade request from the Winnipeg Jets public in August, and more than a month later he’s still there. According to TSN insider Darren Dreger, the reason is simple – nobody is offering anything close to what Winnipeg wants.
Dreger explained the holdup on TSN 1050’s First Up on Monday, laying out a market that has almost nothing in it for the Jets. Most legitimate contenders already have their goaltending settled, with Tampa Bay carrying Andrei Vasilevskiy, Dallas set with Jake Oettinger, Washington with Logan Thompson and the Islanders with Ilya Sorokin.
Connor Hellebuyck slammed
For those clubs, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner would be a luxury rather than a need, which means they’re only interested at a steep discount.
“Why wasn’t he traded? The harsh reality, fellas, is that the offers were terrible,” Dreger said. “The offers were terrible.”
The teams that genuinely need a goaltender run into a different problem. Both Montreal and Edmonton have an obvious hole in net, and both are north of the border.
“There’s all kinds of speculation out there about, ‘Well, geez, he’d be a good fit in Edmonton, he’d be a good fit in Montreal.’ Like, come on. He’s not waiving to stay in Canada,” Dreger said.
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Fans responding to the report weren’t especially sympathetic, with plenty pointing straight at the length of the contract Hellebuyck signed.
“Buddy isn’t even halfway through his seven-year contract. If the offers aren’t good, then too bad for Hellebuyck. You signed for seven years in a place you don’t wanna be,” one fan wrote.
“I’m tired of players signing long-term contracts for financial security and then also wanting out. It’s like wanting to have your cake and eat it too,” another said.
“If the offers are bad, let him stay at home and waste a year of his career,” a third added.
Teammate’s comment
Others argued he damaged his own market by taking the request public in the first place.
“He has zero leverage and tanked his value by publicly requesting a move, which makes it near impossible for the Jets to get any value, because even though he’s a 3x Vezina winner, goalies are already worth next to nothing,” one fan argued.
Hellebuyck signed his seven-year, $59.5 million extension in 2023, and it didn’t kick in until the 2024-25 season. He was not present as the Jets opened their official team events this week, and Dreger said he doubts the goaltender reports to camp at all. Teammate Josh Morrissey, asked about the situation at the team’s golf tournament on Monday, offered a blunt assessment of his own: “It is what it is.”
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