Connor Hellebuyck's trade request just got a new suitor, and it's not the team most people expected.
According to Frank Seravalli, the Utah Mammoth are monitoring the situation around the Winnipeg Jets goaltender heading into Sunday night.
Seravalli's report, relayed on the Jason Gregor Show, says Utah wants to reach contender status and views Hellebuyck as a piece that could get them there.
But there's a catch, and it's the same catch that trips up half these star-goalie rumors.
Utah would need to deal from its futures to get a deal done. Winnipeg reportedly has no interest in taking futures back.
That's the wall right there. A team looking to buy in on a franchise goaltender and a team that wants roster help now, not prospects and picks for 2029.
Why Winnipeg's asking price complicates a Hellebuyck deal
Hellebuyck carries an $8,500,000 cap hit and ranks third among all NHL goaltenders in cap value, right behind Igor Shesterkin and Andrei Vasilevskiy. That's a name any GM has to take seriously.
Winnipeg didn't dress him for Saturday night's preseason game, a 2-5 loss on the road to the Edmonton Oilers. Thomas Milic got the start instead, stopping 23 of 27.
Head coach Scott Arniel and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff haven't commented publicly on where this trade request stands. The Jets sit at 0-0-0 to open the preseason slate, with a loss now on the board.
Utah, under head coach Andre Tourigny and GM Bill Armstrong, is also 0-0-0 and hasn't played its preseason opener yet. The Mammoth are next in action Tuesday night at the LA Kings.
Winnipeg is back in action Monday night at home against the Colorado Avalanche, a game that'll get watched closely given everything swirling around the crease.
Here's the thing about goaltender trades like this. They're not like moving a middle-six winger for futures. It's more like trying to trade a house. Everyone wants it, but nobody agrees on what it's actually worth until the offer's on the table.
Utah wanting in changes the market, even if the futures gap is real. More teams circling usually means the price climbs, not drops.
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Whether Winnipeg holds the line or blinks first is still very much unresolved, and Hellebuyck hasn't said a word publicly since this all broke.
Should the Winnipeg Jets trade Connor Hellebuyck even without a futures-heavy return?
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