Has Connor Hellebuyck’s time with the Winnipeg Jets come to an end, or will he be back next season?
NHL Media: EJ Hradek was asked if Connor Hellebuyck has played his last game for the Winnipeg Jets and if he’ll be traded by the start of the season.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Jamison Coyle: “Has the netminder played his last game already in Winnipeg?”
Hradek: “I think he has. I think that, that the conversations that Hellebuyck talked about after the year, all the rumors about him being moved. I think they’re, they’re planning on moving him.
NHL Rumors: Pittsburgh Penguins, and the St. Louis Blues
Now, again, I go back to the situation with Buffalo. I think for the Winnipeg Jets, they want to get someone who could be a second center in return. Someone who could slide behind (Mark) Scheifele and fill a hole they’ve had, quite frankly, there for a long time.
I think the back and forth with the Buffalo Sabres has been, the Sabres really want Hellebuyck. They’ll give you the goalie, and maybe it’s UPL in return, so you get that fixed up. You have him and (Stuart) Skinner together. But what’s the other piece? I think Buffalo is willing to move off of Jack Quinn, but he’s a winger. So does that really help the Winnipeg Jets, who just came to terms with Cole Perfetti (last week) on an extension, which is good news for them?
So, you know, I think that’s the rub there. And again, there’s no urgency right now in the middle of July. Buffalo is probably sitting there and saying, ‘Well, this is what we’re willing to offer, and you know that’s it.’ And then Winnipeg, on the other hand, is saying, ‘Listen, you want Connor Hellebuyck? It’s going to have to be a different player, player X, player Y.’ You have so many good young players there in Buffalo.
So I think that’s the rub, because again, there is no rush right now. It could happen any day. We could, August 6th, September 1st. Who knows? But as we get closer to the regular season, that pressure starts to build, and maybe that’s what the Buffalo Sabres are hoping for-that the Jets don’t want to go into the season having to have this hanging over their head.
Coyle: “Yeah, Connor Hellebuck to Buffalo, hypothetical. If it happens, how much better does that make the Sabres on paper?
Hradek: “Well, I think on paper, certainly a lot better. I mean, let’s face it: this guy has won multiple Vezina trophies, won the Hart Trophy, he’s got a gold medal. He’s a really good goaltender, and it fills the slot there in Buffalo. So there’s no question about it.
The Montreal Canadiens can only really offer up futures
But I will say this about the Sabres: (Alex) Tuch is gone up front. (Bowen) Byram is gone on the blue line. That’s some significant depth. They have some really talented young players that are going to be important players for the Sabres that they think can fill those roles, particularly in 2, 3, 4 years down the road. But it’s awfully difficult in the immediate to replace those 30-plus goals from Tuch and the big size and strength that he has, and to replace what Byron was able to do in a second-pair role for the Sabres on the blue line. So it’ll be interesting to see how things go in Buffalo this year, after such a great season last year.”
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