- Winnipeg pushed for Zach Benson in a Hellebuyck deal and Buffalo shut it down
- Elliotte Friedman says the sides are still talking after the draft-weekend collapse
- Read below for the Sabres offer, the pick fight, and where the trade sits now
The Connor Hellebuyck trade talk isn’t dead. It’s hung up on a name Buffalo won’t give away.
Winnipeg wanted Zach Benson in any Hellebuyck package, and the Sabres barely let the sentence finish. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported the Jets asked about the young winger, and Buffalo’s answer was short: “That’s not happening.”
Kypreos broke down the Jets’ ask on Real Kyper & Bourne:
Benson is exactly the kind of cheap, controllable scorer a rebuilding contender holds onto. Winnipeg wants help up front, and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has been hunting for a second-line center and a winger. Benson checks a box. Buffalo isn’t the team willing to fill it.
The deal still isn’t buried, though. On a recent 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman said he was surprised to hear the two sides were still talking after the draft.
Friedman was asked how committed Hellebuyck was to the move. “I’m 100% convinced he was willing to waive to go to Buffalo,” Friedman said.
Catch Friedman’s full read on 32 Thoughts:
The draft-weekend version fell apart over picks. Buffalo built an offer around the fourth overall selection, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and forward Jack Quinn, but wanted Winnipeg’s eighth pick coming back. The Jets wanted both first-rounders and wouldn’t move off it.
Hellebuyck is the reigning Hart Trophy winner and a three-time Vezina winner. He controls where he goes, and he already told the Jets he’d waive for Buffalo. The Sabres have chased a true No. 1 goalie for years.
Now Buffalo has to build an offer that gets Winnipeg to a yes without starting at Benson.
