Connor Hellebuyck is suddenly the name hovering over the Winnipeg Jets, and Elliotte Friedman says two Eastern clubs control where this goes.
On Monday's 32 Thoughts, Friedman named the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers as the teams holding the keys. Utah got a mention too.
The Rangers part is the twist. Friedman was clear New York isn't chasing Hellebuyck, but whatever Chris Drury decides could set off a chain reaction around the league.
And Drury has a mess on his hands. Igor Shesterkin is on injured reserve with a knee injury and is out for the season.
That's an $11,567,857 cap hit sitting on IR. Joonas Korpisalo is there too, with a lower-body injury that's expected to keep him out until at least Nov. 9.
So the New York crease belongs to Dylan Garand for now. The 24-year-old owns a .915 save percentage across eight appearances.
He's kept Mike Sullivan's group near the top of the Metropolitan. But the Rangers are 1-4-1 on the road, and asking a young backup to carry a contender is a big ask before Halloween.
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Igor Shesterkin's season-ending injury puts Chris Drury on the clock
Drury paying a premium for a stopgap would be a mistake. Garand's numbers don't scream rescue, and the asking price for anything better will be steep.
Buffalo is the more desperate case. The Sabres have surrendered 37 goals in 10 games and sit eighth in the Atlantic.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen carries an .863 save percentage. Colten Ellis is at .864, and that's the kind of tandem that gets people in the front office replaced.
Jarmo Kekalainen has the clearest motive of anyone on Friedman's list. If he isn't calling Kevin Cheveldayoff, somebody in western New York should be asking why.
So who blinks first?
Utah might. The Mammoth lead the Central at 7-4-0, with Andre Tourigny's group piling up 41 goals.
The goaltending hasn't matched the offense. Karel Vejmelka sits at .872 and Sebastian Cossa at .820, numbers that rarely survive a spring push.
Then there's Winnipeg. The Jets dropped a 3-2 overtime decision in Dallas last night, stretching their winless run to four games.
Stuart Skinner has made seven appearances in the Jets crease, Clay Stevenson the other three. The franchise goalie isn't part of that count.
Hellebuyck's $8,500,000 cap hit ranks fourth among NHL goaltenders. That's a lot of money for Bill Armstrong or Kekalainen to absorb on the fly.
Think of it like a cancelled flight at a crowded gate. One passenger rebooks first, and suddenly everybody else's itinerary changes.
Kyle Connor has nine goals through 10 games, which tells you this team isn't built to wave the white flag at 4-3-3.
Winnipeg hosts the Canadiens on Sunday. Whether Drury makes the first call before puck drop, or waits for someone else to move, is the part nobody has answered yet.
Should the Sabres go all in on Connor Hellebuyck before the Rangers make their move?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Mock trade: Elias Pettersson to the Canadiens for Kirby Dach, two prospects and two firsts
