Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined Steve Kouleas and Martin Biron on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio on Wednesday. There he was asked about Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck and where things stand with those players.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin; Anything New to Learn?
Steve Kouleas: “With Dave Pagnotta, SiriusXM Power Play Insider, of course, Fourth Period, and NHL Network as well. Okay, the lead items and the biggest stories, other than the news right now about the Board of Governors and expansion, are the pick-and-play.
And where we are with Connor Hellebuyck, Dylan Larkin, who skated today (Wednesday) but won’t play tomorrow (Thursday), and Quinn Hughes and the contract. Let’s go through this and take our time. Hellebuyck, Larkin, Quinn Hughes. What can you tell us?”
Dave Pagnotta: “Well, I mean, the Winnipeg Jets right now, because they’re in the driver’s seat with respect to Hellebuyck and what’s going on there. They don’t want, obviously; this is not the situation that played out that they envisioned, or Connor Hellebuyck envisioned either. But they weren’t just going to give them away, and they weren’t comfortable with making a deal with Buffalo ahead of the draft. That put things on the back burner.
They tried to reconvene. They tried with other clubs. There are still teams that have poked around with interest, and I think Buffalo’s still in that category. I would throw Utah and Carolina in there as well, and I’m sure other teams kind of have been poking around. But right now, Kevin Cheveldayoff, the GM of the Jets, and his staff are going to see when and where they can and how they can maximize the return.
Why the Trade Request from Connor Hellebuyck Differs from Dylan Larkin
This is a team that felt in the last quarter of last season they got their mojo back. It was too little, too late, but they feel they can carry that into this coming season. And between the pipes. Stu Skinner for the time being, we’ll see kind of how this obviously unfolds. But going into the week, it was almost quiet and status quo across the board on all three topics.
But as things progress, maybe the Jets are sitting here waiting to see, is there an opportunity with another club? Is somebody going to go down if we get into the first bit of the season? Is a contending team not getting what they expected from their goaltending? And maybe that allows the conversation to reignite in some fashion.
So that’s kind of wait-and-see mode for the Jets and Hellebuyck for the time being. And the longer this goes, obviously there’s going to have to be a decision made as to whether he wants to get to camp or get to the Jets or not.
In Detroit, with you know, Shawn Horcoff now as interim GM, he’s got the keys. He can make the moves. I think those conversations have been moderately rekindled, but this is probably a scenario that gets played out unless something falls into Horcoff’s lap in the next week before the regular season gets going.
Connor Hellebuyck: Who needs him the most? Where is the best fit?
I think the expectation is that Larkin’s going to start the season with the Wings and just have to go from there and wait. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a mid-season type move, but a lot of it also will depend on his performance. If he wants out, okay, well go out there, play your best, raise your value, and maybe it makes it easier to make a deal happen.”
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