Connor Hellebuyck asked out of Winnipeg in the spring, went public with the request in August, and was suspended on September 16 for failing to report to training camp. Every step pointed in one direction. According to several insiders, the least expected outcome is now genuinely in play.
Frank Seravalli laid it out on the Fan Morning Show on Monday, saying the Winnipeg Jets haven’t been in a hurry to move the three-time Vezina Trophy winner for a reason.
“The door is open,” Seravalli said, explaining that the organization is holding out hope Hellebuyck changes his mind and plays another season in Winnipeg.
Connor Hellebuyck could stay
That fits what Kevin Cheveldayoff said last Friday, when he declined to rule out a return and likened the standoff to a family disagreement rather than a permanent break. At the time it sounded like a general manager protecting his leverage. A few days on, it reads differently.
The trade market has also stalled. Elliotte Friedman said on Monday that he hadn’t heard much recent chatter around Hellebuyck at all, describing things as having gone quiet. Seravalli, speaking on Oilers Now the same day, named the San Jose Sharks, Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights as clubs that could still be involved if a deal does happen.
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That list is worth a second look. Earlier in the month the names attached to Hellebuyck were Buffalo, Carolina and Utah, with Florida having made an offer before spending the assets elsewhere. Only Utah has survived from one version to the next, which says plenty about how little momentum there has been.
Cheveldayoff has maintained throughout that the suspension is procedural rather than punitive, and that nothing about the situation is final. Hellebuyck, for his part, hasn’t said anything publicly since his agent released the original statement confirming the request.
The clock is the complicating factor now. As The Hockey News noted, Hellebuyck begins forfeiting salary once the regular season gets underway, which turns what has been a war of patience into something with a real cost attached.
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