Connor Hellebuyck asked the Winnipeg Jets to trade him in the spring. It is now late October, his suspension ends on Friday, and he is still their property. The Cam & Strick podcast put forward an explanation that has little to do with the goaltender himself.
“Everybody’s like, how have they not moved him yet? It’s because they want good players in return,” the hosts said. “They’re not looking just to give him away for a draft pick or two. They want good players.”
Then came the part that stings.
“The players they want have no interest and won’t come to Winnipeg. Zero interest,” they said.
Do players want to play in Winnipeg?
Three American Olympic gold medalists has asked to leave Canadian clubs inside a single year, with Brady Tkachuk forcing his way out of Ottawa and Quinn Hughes dealt out of Vancouver. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan named political tension in the months after the Olympics as a major driver of that, and Winnipeg carries its own particular challenges on top: the smallest market in the league, winters to match, and a history of losing stars.
There is supporting evidence in the Hellebuyck file too. Darren Dreger reported that the Rangers “flat-out don’t wanna pay the price” for him, and David Pagnotta has said since May that the Jets want at least one NHL-proven impact player coming back, preferably more plus assets. Nobody has met that number.
READ MORE: A hot mic caught a slur during the Wild-Oilers game
The clock is the complication now. Winnipeg has to lift the suspension on Friday under the collective bargaining agreement, and Hellebuyck has forfeited close to $800,000 in the process. At least three teams remain involved, with Carolina, Buffalo and Utah the names attached, and San Jose having made inquiries.
The Jets themselves have softened their public tone considerably in recent days.
“I don’t think our whole group is saying, ‘Oh, we don’t want you,'” one player said. “Honestly, it’s not us saying, ‘Ah, we don’t want anything to do with him anymore.’ We’re really just trying to see how this plays itself out.”
Cole Perfetti put it more simply, saying the Jets want guys who want to be there.
Hellebuyck holds a full no-movement clause, which means he approves any destination himself. That becomes a modified no-trade clause next summer.
Read more:
