Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets appear to be working toward a trade, with Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, and Darren Dreger all pointing that way today.
That's the part that matters. Three respected national voices landing on the same story on the same day is a real step up from the long-shot dream talk that's followed him all offseason.
Johnston set the table. He said it sounds like there are a lot of different teams Hellebuyck would consider, and went non-committal on whether any of them are Canadian.
LeBrun pushed it further on Overdrive. He said Hellebuyck is working with Winnipeg, willing to go somewhere the Jets can get value back in return.
The stakes are plain. He's an $8.5M goalie on a team that finished 26th, and turning that contract into roster help is the logic driving all of it.
Johnston's comments are worth hearing in full.
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The Canadian-team question hanging over the talks
Read between the lines on what Winnipeg wants. The Jets are after value, and help up the middle, a real center, is the kind of upgrade that would fit a roster need.
That's the trade-off Kevin Cheveldayoff is weighing. You don't move an elite goalie unless what comes back makes you better somewhere else.
Then there's Johnston's open question. Whether any of Hellebuyck's preferred spots are Canadian is unsettled, and that matters with cap-strapped contenders like Edmonton and Toronto long tied to him as a dream.
A goalie of his caliber reshapes whoever lands him. The suitor list, and what each team would part with, is the next domino to fall.
Make no mistake about the size of this. Winnipeg moving its franchise goalie is a major pivot, and doing it to patch a hole at center would be a deliberate retool, not a panic.
Here's my read: when Johnston, LeBrun, and Dreger all say the same thing in the same news cycle, you stop calling it a rumor. This shifted from a dream to a process today.
So the question isn't whether the Hellebuyck talk is real anymore. It's where, and for what.
With the draft Friday, the Jets may want this sorted fast. Whether a Canadian team forces its way into the mix is the thread worth pulling next.
Should the Jets trade Connor Hellebuyck for help at center?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
A blockbuster Maple Leafs-Oilers trade could reshape both teams
