- Florida’s offer for Connor Hellebuyck included Evan Rodrigues and the picks that later brought Brady Tkachuk to the Panthers
- Jets and Sabres talks died at the June draft over Buffalo’s fourth overall pick
- Read below for why Winnipeg wants a goalie coming back and how no-trade lists keep getting in the way
We finally know what the Florida Panthers put on the table for Connor Hellebuyck.
Elliotte Friedman laid out the two offers that came closest on the latest episode of 32 Thoughts. Florida’s package was Evan Rodrigues, the draft capital that eventually went to Ottawa in the Brady Tkachuk trade, and a roster player who was not Anton Lundell. Winnipeg said no.
The Panthers made that run when they thought Sergei Bobrovsky was walking in free agency. They pivoted to Jacob Markstrom instead, and that door shut.
Hellebuyck still has not walked into camp, and the Jets suspended him for it:
Buffalo got closer than anyone. The Sabres have made no secret of wanting him, and talks around the June draft came down to one pick. Winnipeg wanted Buffalo’s fourth overall selection while keeping its own eighth, and the Sabres would not move inside the top 10 without a swap.
That gap never closed. The Jets stayed at eight and took Viggo Bjorck, a player they liked all along.
There is a bigger roadblock than draft picks. Friedman believes Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has Winnipeg on his five-team no-trade list for 2026-27, and at least one other goaltender who could have gone the other way in a Hellebuyck deal has the Jets listed too.
Kevin Cheveldayoff has made clear there is no deadline on his end:
Winnipeg’s fear is what a futures package would tell the rest of the room. Take back picks and prospects for a Vezina winner and the message is that the window is closing, which is how a general manager ends up with three more trade requests on his desk.
Kyle Connor has been saying the opposite at camp, that there is nowhere else he would rather chase a Cup:
Carolina is still in it. Friedman said a deal centered on Alexander Nikishin would already be done if Winnipeg wanted it, though the Jets have questions about whether the Russian defenseman would sign with them long term.
Stuart Skinner and Thomas Milic split the crease at Winnipeg’s first camp session Thursday. Hellebuyck is 33, carries an $8.5 million cap hit through 2030-31, and is coming off a 23-23-11 season with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage, the worst mark of his 11-year career.
The Jets open the preseason against Edmonton on Saturday and the regular season against Boston on Oct. 2.
