Cole Perfetti just locked in his future in Winnipeg. The 24-year-old forward signed a five-year, $30 million contract extension with the Jets last week. But when he sat down with reporters Monday to talk about his own deal, the conversation quickly shifted to the guy whose future is still up in the air.
Connor Hellebuyck.
The star goaltender’s name has been floating around in trade rumors for weeks now. And Perfetti didn’t pretend to have inside info.
“We know as much as everyone else in the city of Winnipeg,” Perfetti said, via NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest. “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.”
The former 10th overall pick was honest about the uncertainty. “Whatever happens is out of our control, and there’s nothing we can do about it. We don’t know much, so I don’t have much to give you, but we’ll see what happens.” Then he added what most of the roster is probably thinking: “It’s pretty obvious everyone wants to continue to be his teammate and continue to play with him.”
The Hellebuyck rumor mill keeps spinning
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has reportedly been taking calls on the two-time Vezina winner. Nothing has materialized yet. But the fact that Cheveldayoff is even listening says something about where this franchise might be headed.
Hellebuyck still has five years left on the seven-year, $59.5 million deal he signed in October 2023. That’s a lot of term and a lot of money. Any team that wants him would have to clear serious cap space and send real assets back the other way.
But the goaltender himself didn’t exactly calm things down earlier this spring. After the Jets went from winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024-25 to missing the playoffs entirely in 2025-26, Hellebuyck made some pointed comments about the organization’s direction. That’s when the trade chatter really took off.
Perfetti isn’t panicked about one bad year
Winnipeg’s drop-off was brutal. One year they’re the best team in the league during the regular season. The next they’re watching the postseason from home. Perfetti acknowledged the disappointment but pushed back on the idea that this is who the Jets are now.
“This year wasn’t exactly how we planned on the ice, but you rewind two years ago, and we were the best team in the League throughout the regular season and everyone’s playing really well,” he said. “That’s the kind of group that I know we have and what we all believe in and what we can accomplish.”
He made a point worth noting: “One down year I don’t think defines who we are as a group.” Perfetti also mentioned that a lot of guys are still locked up for a while and the team will come back together as a close group.
Having Hellebuyck in net obviously gives Winnipeg a much better shot at bouncing back. But with the trade rumors still swirling, nobody knows if he’ll be there when the Jets open the 2026-27 season against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 2. Not even the guys in the locker room.
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