The One Team That Should Be 'Banging Down The Door' To Trade for Hellebuyck
The exit interview from Winnipeg Jets' three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck was ominous for Jets fans, as we saw last week. In particular, seeing him pause with great difficulty when asked if he's considering his future in Winnipeg, was hard to watch.
NHL Network and NHL.com analyst Dave McCarthy says the goaltender's return to the team is seriously in doubt.
As it relates to Connor Hellebuyck, I was told recently that it wouldn’t be surprising if he plays elsewhere next season.
— Dave McCarthy (@DaveAMcCarthy) April 17, 2026
A number of factors at play, including his discontent with how the season went for the Winnipeg Jets.
4 yrs left at $8.5M. 33 yrs old next season.
"I was told recently that it wouldn’t be surprising if he plays elsewhere next season."
Additionally, McCarthy offered that there's one team in particular that should be beating a path to the Jets' door to try to land him:
I’ll tell ya if I’m Bill Zito and the Florida Panthers, I’m banging down the door of Kevin Cheveldayoff tomorrow. Would be a perfect fit with Panthers at a reduced cost to what they were paying Sergei Bobrovsky.
— Dave McCarthy (@DaveAMcCarthy) April 17, 2026
"I’ll tell ya if I’m (GM) Bill Zito and the Florida Panthers, I’m banging down the door of (Jets GM) Kevin Cheveldayoff tomorrow," wrote McCarthy.
The fit is obvious in so many ways. The Panthers, despite a disastrous season from an injury perspective that left them out of the playoffs, still have the bulk of their two-time Stanley Cup roster in place. But perhaps with one exception next year: legendary goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Bob is a pending UFA, and the talks between him and the Cats on a new deal have been "pretty bad." It seems possible at this point that he'll be moving on.
But the four years remaining on Hellebuyck's contract with an $8.5 million AAV would actually be a savings from the $10M the Panthers have been paying Bobrovsky for the past seven years.
Hellebuyck, after experiencing the thrill of leading Team USA to the Gold Medal at the Olympics, now wants to win a Stanley Cup even more badly. Hooking up with the team that went to three straight Finals before this year, winning two of them, would be the perfect fit for him. And for the Panthers.
