- Darren Dreger says the trade offers Winnipeg has received for Connor Hellebuyck have been “terrible”
- Teams that see Hellebuyck as an upgrade want him at a “bargain basement return”
- Read below for what Dreger said about Hellebuyck waiving to stay in Canada
The Connor Hellebuyck trade market is not treating Winnipeg well.
Darren Dreger was asked on TSN 1050’s First Up on Monday morning what he’s hearing about the Jets goaltender, who requested a trade this summer. His read on what teams have put in front of Winnipeg was short and brutal.
“The offers were terrible.”
Here’s the full segment:
Dreger said the list of teams Hellebuyck would accept a deal to has grown, and it still hasn’t given the Jets much to work with. Most contenders already have their goaltending sorted out.
The clubs that do view a three-time Vezina winner as an upgrade want him cheap. Dreger described what those teams are chasing as a discount price and a “bargain basement return,” which is not something Winnipeg can sign off on.
Then there’s the geography problem. Two of the teams with an obvious hole in net, Montreal and Edmonton, sit north of the border, and Dreger said Hellebuyck is not waiving to stay in Canada.
That’s the squeeze we laid out Monday afternoon: a goalie with destinations he’d approve, and nobody at those destinations willing to pay what he’s worth.
Dreger also doubts Hellebuyck reports to camp in Winnipeg. He said he isn’t certain, but that people around the goalie don’t think he’s coming.
Hellebuyck was not at the Jets golf tournament on Monday, either. Josh Morrissey was there and spoke about his teammate’s trade request, calling the situation one the room can’t ignore.
So the Jets open camp this week with their franchise goalie nowhere in sight and a trade market that, by Dreger’s telling, isn’t close to paying his price.
