Buffalo fans want Connor Hellebuyck, and one mock trade figures the Winnipeg Jets will hand him over for spare parts.
The IceMetrix proposal sends Jiri Kulich, Peyton Krebs, Radim Mrtka, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 third to Winnipeg. Buffalo gets the goalie.
It hits timelines with the Jets on a two-game skid heading into tonight's game in St. Louis.
Who says no? Kevin Cheveldayoff does, and he probably doesn't need to finish reading the list.
Krebs is the headliner by salary. He carries a $4,500,000 cap hit and is still waiting on his first goal of the season.
Kulich is the piece with real juice. The 22-year-old costs $886,666 against the cap and already owns a game-winning goal.
Mrtka isn't on Buffalo's NHL roster. Add two picks outside the first round, and that's the bid for an $8,500,000 goalie with the third-highest cap hit at his position.
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Buffalo's crease problem won't wait until January
This is a bad trade for Winnipeg. It's like walking into a car dealership with a used minivan and two gift cards and asking for the keys to the showroom model.
The Buffalo appetite is easy to understand. The Sabres have allowed 34 goals through nine games, an average of 3.8 per night.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen owns a .860 save percentage. Colten Ellis checks in at .864, so there's no rescue coming from the backup.
And the blue line just lost its biggest name for now. Rasmus Dahlin is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Lindy Ruff has a team sitting fifth in the division with a -7 goal differential. Good coaching only covers so much when the crease leaks like that.
The money works less cleanly than the tweet suggests. Swapping Krebs and Kulich for Hellebuyck adds $3,113,334 to Buffalo's books.
The Winnipeg side is stranger. Stuart Skinner and Clay Stevenson have handled all eight Jets games, with Skinner at a .906 save percentage.
Hellebuyck hasn't appeared in a game for Scott Arniel this season. That alone keeps the chatter alive, whether Winnipeg likes it or not.
Arniel is also without Josh Morrissey, who is expected to be out until at least November 1 with a wrist injury.
These two clubs haven't met yet. Winnipeg visits Buffalo on January 4, and the Sabres head to Winnipeg on January 24.
By then, Jarmo Kekalainen will know whether this crease can be fixed from inside the building. If it can't, the price for a real starter won't look anything like Peyton Krebs.
Should the Sabres pay a real first-round price to land Connor Hellebuyck?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Hellebuyck-to-Sabres trade hinges on Luukkonen deal with Rangers, per report
