The 6 Best Trade Landing Spots for Winnipeg Jets Goalie Connor Hellebuyck
After another disappointing season, the Winnipeg Jets have to start considering making major changes to their roster. The current core of players has been together for several years, and it has yet to show that it can consistently go on deep runs in the playoffs.
When it comes to potential changes, starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck is worth focusing on. He is one of the NHL's best goalies, but he's also entering the final year of his contract.
Hellebuyck has expressed a desire not to be a part of a potential rebuild in Winnipeg. Given his age (he turns 30 in mid-May) and the fact he has yet to play for a serious Stanley Cup contender, that is understandable.
Since the Jets won't want to potentially lose Hellebuyck for nothing after this season, a trade seems like a legitimate possibility. Trading him before the season would also bring maximum value as opposed to waiting until the trade deadline.
Hellebuyck has a nearly $6.2 million salary-cap hit for the 2023-24 season, which could be tricky for some teams to take on, but he has no trade restrictions in his contract. The Jets could also boost their potential return by retaining some of his salary in a trade.
In looking at trades for starting-caliber goalies over the past 10-15 years, the going rate tends to revolve around a first-round pick plus a bit more. Goalies like Cory Schneider, Frederik Andersen, Darcy Kuemper, and Tomas Vokoun all went for packages where a first-round pick was the focus, with a second-round pick or something similar thrown in.
Given Hellebuyck's track record, the Jets might be able to squeeze a little more out of a trade. He is one of the most productive goalies in the league, owning a Vezina Trophy and three top-10 seasons in save percentage, and has demonstrated elite durability. Over the past five years, no goalie in the NHL has played more games or more minutes than him.
If the Jets put Hellebuyck on the trade market, several teams should have serious interest. Cap space and goalie need were the main considerations for potential landing spots.
Buffalo Sabres
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The Buffalo Sabres just missed the playoffs for a 12th consecutive year, but they're on their way back. They were one of the NHL's most exciting teams during the 2022-23 season and boast a young roster that is overflowing with talent.
Tage Thompson has become a superstar. The Sabres have the foundation of a potentially great defense with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson. They were the third-highest scoring team in the league this season and have more help on the way.
The only thing the Sabres were missing was someone who could consistently stop the puck. Put Hellebuyck on this roster, and they might become a serious contender in the Eastern Conference overnight.
Buffalo has one of the best goalie prospects in the league in Devon Levi, but he may not be ready to take on the full-time starting job in 2023-24. He got a brief cup of coffee in the NHL at the end of this season and played well, but asking him to be the main guy over an 82-game season might be unrealistic at this point.
Acquiring a proven goalie like Hellbuyck could allow the Sabres to ease Levi into that role while also giving them a potentially dominant goaltending duo this season.
The Sabres already have 20 players under contract for 2023-24 and still has more than $19 million in salary-cap space, so they could easily take on the remainder of Hellebuyck's deal. They also have three picks within the first two rounds (including their own first-round pick) and an incredibly deep pool of young talent to offer in a trade.
Buffalo is ready to contend, and it should be aggressive this offseason in addressing its biggest need. The Sabres ranked 29th in 5-on-5 save percentage this season and 23rd in all situations save percentage, which can't happen again.
Los Angeles Kings
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The Los Angeles Kings won 47 games and recorded 104 points this season despite having one of the worst goalie situations in the league. Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen was their season-opening duo, but neither did anything to solidify the position.
Pheonix Copley came up from the minors around the halfway point and at least gave them league-average play, while trade deadline addition Joonas Korpisalo helped hold down the fort going into the playoffs. They were fine, but neither of them should be serious options going into next season, especially since Korpisalo is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The Kings defend as well as any team in the league (second-best expected goals against per 60 minutes) and were a top-10 scoring team this season. If some of their young talent (like Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev) take a big step forward offensively, they could be even stronger. But they still need a goalie.
The Kings have shown in recent years that they are not afraid to make a big splash in the offseason. They acquired Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault two years ago, followed by the blockbuster trade for Kevin Fiala this past summer.
Adding somebody like Hellebuyck might make them the best team in the Western Conference. It would take some creativity, though.
The Kings do not have a first-round pick in 2023 (they sent it to Columbus in the trade for Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov), and they have less than $7.6 million in cap space with 18 players under contract. Petersen also has a $5 million cap hit, so unless they can find a way to dump him, they would have a massive financial commitment in goal.
While it might be complicated to acquire Hellebuyck, the Kings should still pursue it. Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty likely have only a few more big seasons in them, so the Kings need to give them their best chance to win again.
Pittsburgh Penguins
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The goalie duo of Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith has been a consistent problem for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the past three years. They played a major role in their first-round exits in 2021 and 2022 and them missing the playoffs this past season.
Jarry, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer, struggled with injuries for the third year in a row and sputtered down the stretch of the regular season. DeSmith is an average backup at best and should not be an option as the starter. The Penguins also lack an immediate answer in their farm system.
As long as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are on the roster, the Penguins' goal should be in win-now mode. With better goaltending, they likely would have made the playoffs this season despite all of their other flaws. Given all of that, Hellebuyck should be on their radar.
The Penguins are currently projected to have more than $20 million in cap space. That number could increase if they buy out the remainder of Mikael Granlund's contract. They also have the No. 14 pick in the draft to offer as the centerpiece of a potential trade.
As disappointing as the 2022-23 season was in Pittsburgh, there is still plenty of evidence that the Penguins can compete. Their core players are still great, while their advanced metrics as it related to scoring chances and expected goals were at an elite level. They should at least call the Jets to inquire about their asking price for Hellebuyck.
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Ottawa Senators
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The Ottawa Senators made one of the most regrettable goalie moves in the league this past offseason when they traded Filip Gustavsson to the Minnesota Wild for Cam Talbot.
Gustavsson went on to be one of the NHL's best goalies and should be the Wild's starter for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Talbot had a miserable season and did nothing to solve Ottawa's goalie problem.
The Senators are an exciting team with a talented young offense on the rise, but they need a goalie to help bring everything together. They do not currently have one under contract for next season.
Ottawa has been extremely aggressive over the past year in building its roster, re-signing its core players to long-term deals while also bringing in Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux. Why not keep that energy going and take a run at one of the league's best goalies?
The Senators were six points back of a playoff spot when the season ended and finished 20th in save percentage. Is Hellebuyck worth six points to a team like Ottawa? If he plays like he has over the past five years, he would be.
Ottawa has more than $17 million in cap space but has only 11 players under contract. It might need to dump another contract to be able to bring in Hellebuyck.
The big obstacle here: The Senators don't have a first-, second- or third-round pick this year, so they would have to get creative in a trade package.
New Jersey Devils
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Akira Schmid helped the New Jersey Devils salvage their first-round matchup against the New York Rangers, and his brief tenure in the NHL has been encouraging. But goaltending is the one big question mark the Devils have on an otherwise outstanding team.
The Devils rapidly developed into a Stanley Cup contender this season thanks to an outstanding young core of forwards and an underrated defense that has been pieced together through some really shrewd trades and free agent signings. They're loaded and built for long-term success.
Even so, a team's Stanley Cup chances are only as strong as its goaltending. That might make them interested in acquiring a proven option like Hellebuyck.
The Devils sent their first-round pick to the San Jose Sharks as part of the Timo Meier trade, but they have a strong collection of young talent that they could include in a trade.
The Devils' goaltending situation was manageable during the regular season, but some cracks have emerged in the playoffs that should make them question whether the position is strong enough to get them back to the Stanley Cup Final.
Putting Hellebuyck behind this roster might get them there.
Seattle Kraken
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When the Seattle Kraken entered the NHL ahead of the 2021-22 season, they tried to build from the net out. They brought in Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger at a combined cap hit of $9.4 million per season with the hope they could keep the team competitive early on.
It has not exactly worked out that way. Instead, the rest of the team has emerged as a powerhouse in the Western Conference while the goaltending is the biggest question.
Seattle ranked 30th in save percentage this season, the worst mark of any team in the playoffs. In 2021-22, the Kraken were dead last in that category.
While Seattle's goalies have fared slightly better in the playoffs, goaltending remains a concern.
The Kraken have more than $18 million in cap space this offseason and four picks in the first two rounds, including a second-round pick that originally belonged to Winnipeg.
Seattle's roster is as deep as any team in the league, and it has a potential star emerging in rookie Matty Beniers. With an elite goalie to bring everything together, this team would be ready to become a force in the West.
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