Connor Hellebuyck to Oilers rumor gets major new update

Connor Hellebuyck to Edmonton is the rumor that refuses to die, and it picked up steam again Tuesday afternoon.

Kyle Odland pushed it out on X, and the post has already pulled 12,000 views with 45 likes attached.

The argument leans on Friedman, who per that post says the goaltender will go anywhere to win. Edmonton, so the thinking goes, offers the best shot at it.

The graphic riding along with it stacks three logos. Buffalo, Carolina and Edmonton, with the netminder kicking a puck off his blocker in a USA sweater.

Buffalo makes sense on paper after a 50-23-9 season. Carolina finished with an even better record.

Winnipeg is the one holding the problem. The Jets landed 26th overall and closed the year on a four game losing streak.

Their starter is 33 and carries an $8.5 million cap hit, the fourth heaviest number handed to any goaltender in the league.

-

Oilers linked to Connor Hellebuyck in blockbuster trade buzz

The numbers behind him were not kind either. A .895 save percentage across 57 appearances, and he never once shut the door completely.

Now flip to Edmonton, where the crease has been a running sore. Tristan Jarry won 16 of his 33 appearances with a .882 mark.

Frederik Andersen is 36 and stopped pucks at a .874 clip over 35 games. He is listed day to day, expected out until at least October 20.

Stan Bowman is walking into a season with one goaltender coming off that save percentage and another who is not due back until late October.

April told the story plainly. Anaheim took the series in six, and the Oilers gave up seven goals in one game and six in another.

Connor McDavid put up 138 points in the regular season and still finished that series at -8. The scoring was never the issue.

Evan Bouchard went minus-7 across the same six games. Leon Draisaitl produced 10 points and it still was not close to enough.

Chew on this one. Anaheim finished with 92 points, one behind Edmonton, and ended their year anyway.

So the appetite out west is real. The question is whether the math works anywhere outside a mockup graphic.

Draisaitl already eats $14 million. McDavid sits at $12.5 million, Bouchard at $10.5 million.

Stacking another $8.5 million on top of that is like buying a fifth television for a house where the roof leaks. Impressive on the shelf. Useless in a storm.

Here is the wrinkle nobody floating this wants to mention. Edmonton beat Winnipeg all three times they met last season, including a 6-2 result at home in December.

Kevin Cheveldayoff has no reason to hand a conference rival the one position that decided his season. And every reason to make the Oilers overpay if he ever does.

Mike Babcock has not coached a single game behind that bench yet. He may find out in a hurry that the loudest problem in Edmonton is not one anybody on the roster can solve.

Also read on Markerzone.com:
Canucks' Liam Ohgren decision could shock Vancouver before the extension deadline