Problem for Winnipeg, Hellebuyck wants to leave. Teams looking for top goalies are on the lookout

The Winnipeg Jets are in big trouble. After Pierre-Luc Dubois, star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck doesn’t want to renew his contract and the general manager has to make a trade to get something back.

Winnipeg drafted Hellebuyck in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and he started catching regularly in 2015. He’s been catching regularly for the Jets for eight years and has become one of the NHL’s best goalies.

It’s just that his performance absolutely doesn’t match his salary. In 2017, he received a one-year, $2.25 million contract, and in July 2018, he received a six-year, $37 million contract for a total cap hit of $6.1 million. In addition, both contracts were not settled until just before the tribunal hearing.

Thus, Hellebuyck has run out of patience because he knows he is being vastly underpaid. Moreover, he would like to get closer to winning a Stanley Cup and at 30 years old, he suspects that glory does not await him with Winnipeg.

According to The Athletic website, he has informed the organization’s management that he will not be renewing his contract, which expires next year. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff certainly didn’t count on such information, planning to sign Hellebuyck later in the season.

So it’s clear that one of the league’s best goalies will be catching elsewhere starting next season at the latest. But how will that happen? That’s the question.

Winnipeg can honor Hellebuyck’s contract and try to have one last run with a top goaltender next season. It’s just that having a goalie in goal who doesn’t really want to be on the team isn’t a win. And there is another minus attached to that, Winnipeg would lose him in a year with no replacement.

That’s why a summer trade seems so logical. Winnipeg will be able to get a decent replacement for Hellebuyck and not lose him for free.

And the suitors? You better believe there will be a lot of interest in Hellebuyck. An elite goaltender is a scarce commodity and especially with such a low cap hit of 6 million, which doesn’t match his qualities.

According to speculation, there are already two big suitors. Toronto and New Jersey both finished identically in the second round of the playoffs, they have big ambitions but lack a top goalie. The Maple Leafs are unhappy with Murray, who has been injured for most of the season, Samsonov is not exactly elite either.

In New Jersey, they rotated Vanecek and Schmid for the number one position, but that wasn’t it either. These two are the ones targeting the top goalie, and with the possibility of Hellebuyck, it will be interesting to see who takes it for themselves.

Source: NHL.com, The Athletic