- Marty Biron says Buffalo asked for Winnipeg’s No. 8 pick and Kevin Cheveldayoff said no
- Murat Ates says the Jets want a top-six forward, a goalie and a first-round pick
- Read below for what skipping training camp would cost Connor Hellebuyck
The Buffalo trade that would have saved Connor Hellebuyck a very long summer died over a single draft pick.
Marty Biron was asked how close Winnipeg and the Sabres actually got in late June, and he pointed straight at the picks. Buffalo owned the No. 4 selection it had acquired from Chicago. Winnipeg held No. 8.
“The Sabres wanted the 8th overall pick for the 4th overall pick part of the trade and Kevin Cheveldayoff said no.”
Watch Biron break down where the two sides split:
Those talks collapsed before the first round opened, and nothing has replaced them since. Hellebuyck went public with his trade request on Thursday through his agent, months after he first made it privately.
NHL Network went through the statement and what it leaves Winnipeg holding:
What Cheveldayoff wants back has not moved much either. Murat Ates of The Athletic pegs the Jets’ biggest needs as a top-six forward, preferably a center or a right wing, plus a goaltender who can absorb some of the workload. A first-round pick belongs in the package too.
That is a heavy ask for a 33-year-old goalie, and it is why the price tag has been the holdup all summer.
Winnipeg is not out of options. Hellebuyck is signed through 2030-31 at an $8.5 million cap hit, and his no-movement clause turns into a 10-team trade list next season, which widens the market without the Jets doing anything.
September is the pressure point. Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News laid out the risk if no deal lands: Hellebuyck can refuse to report to camp, but that would put him in breach of contract and let Winnipeg suspend him without pay until he shows up or gets moved.
His leverage is the work itself. Hellebuyck won the Vezina and the Hart in 2024-25 on a 47-12-3 record with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage, then slid to 23-23-11, 2.86 and .895 last season around November knee surgery.
Jets camp opens in a few weeks, and the goalie who wants out is still on the roster.
