- Murat Ates says Buffalo offered the No. 4 pick, a roster player and a prospect for Connor Hellebuyck
- The Sabres also wanted Winnipeg to swap first-round picks, and the Jets refused to move their No. 8 selection
- Read below for why Buffalo kept its pick and where Hellebuyck stands now
Buffalo came within one draft pick of landing the best goalie on the planet.
Murat Ates of The Athletic reported the Sabres put the No. 4 overall pick, a roster player and a prospect on the table for Connor Hellebuyck. The hangup was the rest of it. Buffalo also wanted Winnipeg to swap first-round spots, and the Jets had no interest in handing over their No. 8 pick to do it.
That was the wall. Winnipeg would not move the pick, and the deal died before the first round even started.
So the Sabres held onto No. 4 and used it. The front office did not sound torn up about the way it shook out:
It is not hard to see why Buffalo pushed so hard. Hellebuyck won the Hart Trophy in 2025 and has three Vezinas to his name.
He grabbed the biggest prize of his career in February, carrying Team USA to Olympic gold with a .956 save percentage and a 41-save performance in the final against Canada.
Money was never the issue. Hellebuyck is signed through 2031 on a seven-year, $59.5 million contract with an $8.5 million cap hit.
He is still a Jet. Winnipeg has fielded calls on him all offseason, including a Carolina pitch built around a first-rounder and Alexander Nikishin, but nobody has met the price.
The Sabres, meanwhile, found their blue-line help somewhere else, landing Olen Zellweger in a trade with Anaheim over the weekend.
