- The Athletic named Ryan McLeod as a realistic centerpiece in a Sabres return for Connor Hellebuyck
- McLeod and new Jets signing Cole Perfetti were top-line teammates in junior with Saginaw
- Read below for how Buffalo’s offer shifts after the failed draft-day deal
Ryan McLeod might be the piece that finally gets a Connor Hellebuyck trade across the line.
Athletic insider Murat Ates ran through Buffalo’s realistic trade chips in a new piece this week, and McLeod’s name jumped out.
Ates was sorting through which Sabres forwards Winnipeg would actually want back for its franchise goalie.
“Ryan McLeod would be a more reasonable target and has already dominated alongside Jets forward Cole Perfetti,” Ates wrote. “The 26-year-old playmaking center played with Perfetti on the Saginaw Spirit’s top line during their OHL playoff run in 2019.”
That Saginaw connection got a lot more relevant this week.
Winnipeg locked up Perfetti on Tuesday, ducking an arbitration hearing with a five-year contract. Elliotte Friedman had the number first:
The Jets made it official soon after:
McLeod, 26, gives Buffalo a cheap, cost-controlled center down the middle. That is the kind of young player Winnipeg would need to headline a Hellebuyck deal, and the Perfetti chemistry only sharpens the pitch.
These two already came close once. Buffalo put the No. 4 pick, a roster player and a prospect on the table before the draft, but the Jets wanted a first-round swap the Sabres wouldn’t stomach, and the deal fell apart.
Ates figures Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs could hold some appeal too. A return built around McLeod and a substantial second piece, though, is the sort of haul Winnipeg could actually frame as a win.
Buffalo and Winnipeg are still talking. Perfetti’s extension doesn’t ship Hellebuyck anywhere on its own, but it drops one more familiar face in the Jets room if McLeod ends up being the cost.
