Hurricanes' Offer To Jets For Connor Hellebuyck Revealed

The Connor Hellebuyck buzz keeps getting louder. He hasn't officially requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets, but since that is the growing trend in the NHL these days, we assume it won't be long. In the meantime, we're getting an insider's report that the Stanley Cup champions have now made a legitimate offer to the Jets to try to land the best goalie in hockey.

Frank Seravalli has released his latest Trade Targets board, and says that the Carolina Hurricanes made a big pitch for Hellebuyck. 

Sources indicate the Carolina Hurricanes made a pitch this week for United States Olympic gold medalist and three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck. The offer was believed to include a first-round pick along with pending RFA defenseman Alexander Nikishin, a player swirling in trade winds this week. Nikishin, 24, scored 11 goals in his freshman season as a blue liner and was selected to the All-Rookie team alongside Matthew Schaefer. 

According to Seravalli, the Utah Mammoth, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks were among the other teams "properly positioned to take a run at Hellebuyck." He admits that the Florida Panthers have definitely been sniffing around, but don't have the assets to compete with those other teams in an offer. 

We should also note that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been linked to have interest in pursuing Hellebuyck, but they likely wouldn't have the assets either, unless... Matthew Knies entered the conversation. But that's another story for another time. 

Hellebuyck came out publicly during Winnipeg's exit interviews and sounded off on the Jets' disappointing season. The seven-second silence was deafening when he was asked if he was considering his future in Winnipeg. 

The Michigan-born netminder has five years remaining on what is now a very reasonable cap hit of $8.5 million. He won the Vezina as the league's top goalie in 2020, 2024 and 2025, the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2025, and of course, led Team USA to the Gold Medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February. He carries a career .916 save percentage to go with 45 shutouts across 11 seasons, all with Winnipeg. 

The Hurricanes, of course, are just coming off their Stanley Cup triumph, backed in goal for the first three rounds by pending UFA Frederik Andersen, until late-blooming rookie Brandon Bussi drove them over the finish line for the final 3 1/2 games.