The top goalie in the world is hoping to be traded before NHL training camps open in September.
Connor Hellebuyck went public with his request to be traded from the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. In a statement released by his agent, Ray Petkau, Hellebuyck confirmed that he asked for a trade from Winnipeg several months ago, and that he still believes moving on is the best path forward for him and his family. The Jets responded with a statement of their own from general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, saying they will “continue to work through the situation in a thoughtful manner.”
The three-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender is hoping to find a new team sooner rather than later, while the Jets won’t be keen on moving their best player without receiving fair compensation. While we don’t know exactly what Winnipeg is asking for in return, here’s a summary from their perspective, from The Athletic’s Jets beat writer, Murat Ates:
“Winnipeg will seek to delay a rebuild if at all possible. Expect the Jets’ ideal return to focus on roster players – a top-six forward, a goaltender who can share the net with Skinner – and a first-round pick or similar asset. When Cheveldayoff named his team’s biggest needs, answering The Athletic’s question prior to the draft, he put his focus squarely on a second-line center. He then drafted Viggo Bjorck, who Winnipeg is inclined to give an NHL opportunity at 18 years old and who projects to be a strong two-way center. The selection doesn’t automatically pivot Winnipeg’s needs from center to right wing, where Gabriel Vilardi is the only surefire threat, but it gives the Jets options in terms of the forward they get back. Skinner has played at least 50 games for four straight seasons, so the Jets don’t need a surefire starter – just someone who can play a “1B” role and take 30 to 35 starts.”
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported on Thursday that one key difference between Hellebuyck’s trade request compared to others around the NHL is that he’s willing to waive his no-movement clause for a variety of teams, which means the Jets have options.
With that in mind, here are the teams that make the most sense as potential trade partners, and why some may be better fits than others.
Buffalo Sabres
Much of the conversation around potential landing spots for Hellebuyck has centered around Buffalo, and for good reason. The Sabres should be considered a frontrunner. They took a huge step forward in 2025-26, snapping a 14-year playoff drought. It was largely fueled by a top-five scoring attack, but they also received surprisingly steady goaltending from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon, who combined to give them the third-highest team save percentage in the NHL.
It’s fair to wonder if the duo can repeat that in 2026-27. Luukkonen’s four full seasons in the NHL have bounced between stellar and disappointing, and Lyon’s career has been equally uneven.
With the talent the Sabres have at forward and on the blue line, Hellebuyck would instantly make them a top contender in the East. We’ve only seen Hellebuyck play behind a top-five scoring team twice in his career, and in both instances he led the NHL in wins. In 2017-18, he finished runner-up for the Vezina and led Winnipeg to the conference finals. In 2024-25, he helped the Jets win the Presidents’ Trophy and walked away with the Vezina and Hart trophies.
Buffalo’s salary cap situation is another reason to believe it’s a top landing spot. The Sabres still have $6.9 million in space, which is already nearly enough to fit Hellebuyck’s $8.5 million cap hit. If the Jets took Luukkonen back in a trade, it would clear another $4.75 million, leaving plenty of room. The Sabres also have a plethora of top-six forwards they could send Winnipeg’s way, including Josh Norris and Ryan McLeod, giving this potential trade a real chance.
Vegas Golden Knights
Rarely does a star player hit the trade market without the Golden Knights being mentioned in some capacity. Vegas has made multiple blockbuster trades over the last nine seasons, with several being under similar circumstances: a player unhappy in their current location.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon has made it clear that he’s happy with his current goalie tandem of Carter Hart and Adin Hill, but it doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind if the right opportunity presents itself. Neither Hart nor Hill was particularly impressive in the regular season, with the team ranking near the bottom of the league in save percentage and goals saved above expected. Hart was excellent in the playoffs, sans a poor ending in the Cup Final, and Hill has shown he is good enough to lead the team to a title, but Hellebuyck is obviously another tier of goalie entirely.
What makes this option particularly intriguing is the stylistic fit. Hellebuyck is a positional goalie who reads the play incredibly well and thrives in structure. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights defend with arguably the best structure in the NHL. They employ a zone defense that does an exceptional job of keeping the puck out of the high-danger areas and allows predictable shots. It’s why they led the league with the fewest high-danger chances and expected goals against last season.
Giving predictable chances to a goalie with Hellebuyck’s anticipation skills is a recipe for a fourth Vezina Trophy. The biggest hurdle in a trade between the Golden Knights and Jets would be cap space and trade assets. Vegas currently has only $1.9 million in space. If Hill and his $6.25 million cap hit were to be included in the return package, it would get Vegas close, but there’s no guarantee the Jets would be interested in taking on that contract for the next five years after Hill’s disappointing 2025-26 season.
The Golden Knights don’t have a first-round draft pick in next year’s draft, but they do have two in 2028 after acquiring one from the Rangers in the Pavel Dorofeyev trade this summer. If the Jets are looking for a top-six forward or top-four defenseman in return, Vegas is a bit handcuffed by no-trade clauses for most of its top players, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that Vegas finds a way. From Hellebuyck’s perspective, Vegas’ consistent track record is appealing, as is joining Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin, with whom he won a gold medal at the Olympics.
Carolina Hurricanes
Adding an elite goalie to the defending Stanley Cup champions would be bad news for the rest of the NHL, but is it realistic?
The Hurricanes have remained steadfast in their approach over the years, regularly passing on opportunities to add a high-dollar goalie and instead looking to find value in net while investing money elsewhere on the roster. It worked last season, as Frederik Andersen ($2.75 million cap hit) led them to the Cup Final, where Brandon Bussi (a waiver claim with a meager $775,000 cap hit) helped them win it all. Carolina is currently set up well to continue on that path, with Bussi signed for the next three seasons for $1.9 million per season, and Pyotr Kochetkov on an expiring deal worth only $2 million. That $3.9 million investment in goaltending is the third-lowest in the NHL.
General manager Eric Tulsky likely sees no reason to stray from this strategy, mere months after it won a championship, but it’s worth noting that under the quickly rising salary cap, Hellebuyck’s contract is arguably a value at this point. His cap hit accounts for only 8.2 percent of the total cap, which is closer to the deal Carolina signed Andersen to in 2021 (5.5 percent of the cap) than it is to the biggest goalie deals, such as the one Carey Price signed in Montreal in 2018, which accounted for 13.2 percent of the cap, or the one Sergei Bobrovsky signed in 2019 with Florida, which took up 12.3 percent of the cap.
It would be an against-the-grain move by the Hurricanes, but they have plenty of cap space and trade assets to make it happen if they chose to do so.
Utah Mammoth
The Mammoth could be a sneaky contender in this sweepstakes. They took major steps forward last season, pushed Vegas in the first round of the playoffs, and have several young players still on the way up. Karel Vejmelka has been solid in net, handling one of the biggest workloads of any goalie in the league over the last two seasons, but Hellebuyck obviously would be an upgrade.
The Jets may have no interest in trading their star goalie within the division, but Utah has plenty of future assets and top-six forwards to include in a potential trade if they did. The Mammoth don’t currently have quite enough cap space to fit in Hellebuyck, but they would if Vejmelka were included in the return package, and Winnipeg likely wouldn’t mind rolling with a duo of Vejmelka and Skinner.
If Winnipeg isn’t planning to enter a rebuild, helping a divisional opponent make the leap to true contender status doesn’t make much sense. Outside of that — which is admittedly a pretty big hurdle — Utah is an excellent fit for Hellebuyck.
New Jersey Devils
If newly appointed general manager Sunny Mehta wants to make a splash, this would certainly be it. His predecessor, Tom Fitzgerald, took a big swing at goalie by trading for Jacob Markstrom in 2024. After sending Markstrom and the remainder of his contract to Florida this summer, the Devils are left with a fairly bare cupboard in the crease.
Jake Allen and Nico Daws currently make up the cheapest goalie tandem in the NHL, with a combined cap hit of only $2.9 million. Allen has been excellent in his three seasons in New Jersey and is coming off arguably the best season of his 13-year NHL career, but he’s also 36 and hasn’t handled a true starter’s workload since 2018.
The Devils have been plagued by injuries the past few seasons, but there’s plenty of talent on the roster. With a little better luck in that department, and with elite goaltending, they could easily make the jump from lottery team to contender in the East.
San Jose Sharks
With one of the most exciting young rosters in the league, the Sharks seem primed for a breakout. Adding a world-class goalie would accelerate their timeline for contention in a big way, but it also feels like the timelines for Hellebuyck and the Sharks’ core don’t exactly match up.
San Jose finished in the bottom 10 last season in team save percentage, but that number is more of a product of abysmal defending than the goaltending itself. Yaroslav Askarov was inconsistent in his first year as a starter. He had stretches of brilliance, when he showed why he’s viewed as a franchise netminder. He had stretches when his game got a bit loose and too many pucks found the back of the net. Still, with a young team whose projected window to win isn’t quite open, it feels like allowing Askarov to grow as the true No. 1 is probably the better option.
If general manager Mike Grier wanted to add a stud veteran goalie to play alongside Askarov, he could’ve pursued Bobrovsky in free agency without having to trade anything, with the added benefit of adding a Russian legend for Askarov to learn from. He clearly feels comfortable with his current goalie room of Askarov, Alex Nedeljkovic and Eric Comrie.
From Winnipeg’s perspective, getting Askarov back in a trade would be fantastic. He’s only 24 and has Vezina-caliber potential if he reaches his ceiling, but considering the Sharks’ big-picture timeline, swapping the younger goalie for a more proven but aging Hellebuyck doesn’t seem prudent. There’s also no guarantee Hellebuyck includes the Sharks on his list of contenders he is willing to accept a trade to.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets could be a dark horse in these sweepstakes. The fit isn’t obvious, considering they missed the playoffs for the sixth straight season last year and saw Jet Greaves emerge as one of the better young netminders in the league. Columbus currently ranks 20th in betting odds to win the Cup, and fifth to win their division, but a lot could change with an addition such as Hellebuyck.
The Blue Jackets were around league average in most statistics last season, but did allow the sixth-fewest high-danger chances, with a sturdy defense led by Hellebuyck’s Team USA teammate and Norris Trophy winner, Zach Werenski. If they get sizable leaps from young, talented forwards Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger, and the core of veterans up front plays to its potential, Columbus could be much improved. The team was red-hot under coach Rick Bowness before faltering down the stretch.
Columbus has plenty of cap space and a strong pool of young prospects to choose from in a potential trade. It’s not the most likely destination for Hellebuyck, but it wouldn’t be overly surprising to see Columbus take a big swing.
Dallas Stars
Is there potential for a blockbuster one-for-one goalie trade?
Hellebuyck wants to play for a contender, which Dallas clearly is. The Stars have been looking for something to get them over the hump, which Hellebuyck could clearly be. The Jets are hoping to acquire enough talent in this trade to avoid a full rebuild, and getting a younger, franchise goalie such as Jake Oettinger is probably the best they could ever hope for.
There’s just one major issue. Oettinger, who is signed through the 2032-33 season, has a full no-movement clause in his contract. The Lakeville, Minn., native loves Dallas and seemingly likely has no intention of waiving that clause, nor should he.