- Cole Perfetti says the Jets are “very anxious” about Connor Hellebuyck’s uncertain future
- Winnipeg has listened to trade offers on the three-time Vezina winner since June
- Read below for Perfetti’s full comments and where the Jets stand in net
Cole Perfetti is locked in with the Winnipeg Jets for five more years. Whether his best goalie sticks around that long is the part nobody in the room can answer.
Perfetti spoke to reporters Monday for the first time since signing his new deal, and the Connor Hellebuyck trade chatter came up fast. He didn’t dodge it.
“We know as much as everyone else in the city of Winnipeg,” Perfetti said. “We’re very anxious to know too, I think everyone is. We obviously know how special he is as a player and as a person, and we want to be fighting with him day-in and day-out.”
Perfetti avoided an arbitration hearing by inking a five-year, $30 million contract last week, an even $6 million per season. Here’s the Jets locking up their young winger:
Hellebuyck is a tougher question. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff admitted back in June that Winnipeg has listened to offers on the three-time Vezina winner, who still has five years and an $8.5 million cap hit left on his deal.
The Jets didn’t sit still in net either. They signed free agent Stuart Skinner to a two-year, $7.5 million deal on July 1, and that only cranked up the noise around Hellebuyck.
Perfetti made it clear the players want him back, even if the call is above their pay grade.
“Whatever happens, it is obviously out of our control, there’s nothing that we can do about it, so I’m trying not to get caught in it,” Perfetti said. “It’s pretty obvious everyone wants to continue to be his teammate and continue to play with him.”
Take a look at TSN breaking down Perfetti’s extension and where Hellebuyck fits into the picture:
The Jets have ground to make up. They went 35-35-12 last season, finished seventh in the Central, and missed the playoffs a year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s best regular-season team.
Winnipeg opens 2026-27 against the Bruins at Canada Life Centre on October 2. Perfetti isn’t worried about the roster math just yet.
“One down year I don’t think defines who we are as a group,” he said.
If Hellebuyck is still in the crease that October night, the Jets look a lot more like the team that ran the league two years ago.
