Connor Hellebuyck's Sole Focus: 'Winning A Stanley Cup'
The Winnipeg Jets have never been able to make some serious noise in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since Connor Hellebuyck joined the team back in 2015-16, and now the Vezina and gold medal winning goaltender has asked out.
“For me, it’s winning a Stanley Cup – that’s my goal, and that’s all I have left, and that’s what I want on my resumé,” Hellebuyck said in April. “I don’t play this game for the money, I don’t play it for the fame. I do it for my own personal fun and, you know, part of that is winning a Cup. So for me, I’m just looking at how can I get that? How can I get there?”
Hellebuyck has one thing on his mind, and that's adding to his resume, winning a Stanley Cup, and he's made that clear for months. Hellebuyck was very candid during his exit interview at the end of last season, and even back then it was obvious that the writing was developing on the wall this offseason for his exit.
Hellebuyck has five seasons left on his contract and holds a full no-movement clause until next July. The Jets have been trying to find a deal they like, but have been holding a hard bargain to onlooking GM's. The Jets have reportedly been in contact with the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Colorado Avalanche so far during the latest round of trade conversations.
The Penguins and Hurricanes seem like a couple of wildcards in this process, as both teams are expected to push for contention next season, and the Pens and Jets have done some reasonable business over the last two seasons. Perhaps a Ben Kindel and Arturs Silovs package gets the Jets attention?
For now, Hellebuyck remains a Jet, but expect to see him traded to one of the teams mentioned before the start of training camp in a couple of weeks.