Connor Hellebuyck asked out of Winnipeg in the spring, went public in August and was suspended without pay in September for refusing to report to training camp. The market for him has been shrinking ever since, and David Pagnotta has it down to three clubs.
“I still look at Carolina, Utah, Buffalo as potential options right now,” Pagnotta said on Leafs Morning Take. “At least coming into this week, it’s been fairly status quo.”
Carolina is the easiest of the three to explain. The reigning Stanley Cup champions lost Frederik Andersen to Edmonton Oilers in free agency, they’re built to win now, and Hellebuyck has made clear that contending is the whole point of the exercise. Buffalo has been attached to this since the summer, when Pagnotta reported the goaltender would welcome a move there, and the Utah Mammoth have appeared on every version of the list since June.
Where will Connor Hellebuyck be traded?
Pagnotta has since added a wrinkle that nobody had considered. Speaking on DFO Insider, he raised the Los Angeles Kings as a left-field possibility given internal questions about whether Darcy Kuemper can handle a full season, and suggested a three-team construction with Carolina’s Alexander Nikishin worked in somehow.
The obvious problem there is that Hellebuyck would have to waive his no-move clause for a team that has spent several years squeaking into the playoffs and exiting in the first round.
READ MORE: Pierre LeBrun has shut down the Hellebuyck speculation
What hasn’t changed is the Winnipeg Jets‘ asking price. Pagnotta has reported since May that Winnipeg wants at least one NHL-proven impact player coming back, and would prefer more than that plus additional assets. As he put it on his own site, interest has come from several teams over the past few months, some of which are no longer in the picture at all.
Winnipeg also has no reason to hurry. Stuart Skinner and Clay Stevenson have carried the crease to a 3-0-1 start, with Skinner stopping 32 of 34 against Colorado on Wednesday, which means the Jets can wait as long as they like.
Hellebuyck is in the third season of a seven-year contract carrying an $8.5 million cap hit through 2030-31.
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