- Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff wishes the Hellebuyck trade happened 4-5 months ago
- He explained why the goalie market made a deal so hard to land
- Read below for his full comments after the trade
Kevin Cheveldayoff would have liked this one done a lot sooner.
The Jets general manager met with reporters Friday afternoon, hours after sending Connor Hellebuyck to the Devils, and was asked how he felt about where the whole saga landed.
“We’re very comfortable with what we accomplished here over the period of time. Certainly wish I could have done it 4-5 months ago when the opportunity first started, but here we are today.”
Watch the full press conference:
Cheveldayoff also explained why the market took so long to develop. He said teams with a real need at goalie were hard to find, and that the no-move lists everyone talked about were not the main roadblock.
“This wasn’t about necessarily the no-move list. This was about who had the legitimate needs. And when you get into a situation like that, that’s the group you’re dealing with, and you can’t manufacture it.”
He added that plenty of fellow GMs with their No. 1 goalies locked in told him to hang in there. Cheveldayoff called that “funny, ironic” and said those managers were “sleeping easy at night as opposed to wasting away a summer.”
Cheveldayoff was asked about Hellebuyck’s decision to request a trade and sit out. He kept it short.
“At the end of the day, Connor made his choice to do (this) how he chose to do it. And as an organization, we just had to act accordingly, and we did.”
He also thanked Hellebuyck at the start of the press conference, calling him a big part of the team’s family.
Winnipeg got forwards Dawson Mercer, Alexander Command and Nick Bjugstad, goalie Nico Daws, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-rounder. Command went 12th overall at the 2026 draft, and Bjugstad is on long-term injured reserve. Our full trade breakdown has the contracts, and here is the graphic we posted when it became official:
The Jets are 4-3-3 without Hellebuyck, with Stuart Skinner and waiver pickup Clay Stevenson sharing the work in net. Daws now joins that mix.
Hellebuyck makes his first trip back to Winnipeg when the Devils visit Canada Life Centre on Nov. 10, and the rematch in Newark is Nov. 28.
