- Connor Hellebuyck’s suspension ended Friday with the goalie out nearly $1 million in salary
- He sat out the first 10 games of the Jets’ season before being traded to the Devils
- Read below for how the holdout played out and what it cost him
Connor Hellebuyck’s holdout is over, and it cost him close to $1 million.
His suspension officially ended Friday, the same day the Jets traded him to the Devils. By the final count, he forfeited roughly $925,000 of his $7.5 million salary for this season. Here’s how our tweet laid it out:
The money adds up fast because of how the contract is built. Hellebuyck carries an $8.5 million cap hit, but his actual 2026-27 salary is $7.5 million. Every day he sat out came off that number, and a fan-made tracker called Hellebucks.com kept a running tally of it all month.
The Jets suspended him Sept. 16 after he asked for a trade and failed to report to training camp. Winnipeg went 4-3-3 over the 10 games he missed, with Stuart Skinner and Clay Stevenson splitting the work in net.
The suspension was set to expire Oct. 23, which put the Jets in a tough spot. Had no deal come together, they would have owed a goalie who wanted out his full pay to stay home, or put him back in the lineup.
Instead, Winnipeg moved him. Check out the moment it became official:
New Jersey sent Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws, Nick Bjugstad, the rights to Alexander Command, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Jets. Here are the full details of the deal:
Hellebuyck is 33 and coming off a down year in Winnipeg, going 23-23-11 with a .895 save percentage, the lowest mark of his 11 seasons. Now he gets the fresh start he asked for in New Jersey.
He lost the paycheck, but he got the trade.
