Kevin Cheveldayoff finally broke his silence on the Connor Hellebuyck situation Friday, and he didn’t exactly shut down the trade chatter.
The Jets general manager addressed the growing speculation around his star goaltender for the first time this offseason. And while he didn’t confirm whether Hellebuyck has formally requested a trade, his message was pretty clear: Winnipeg is willing to listen.
“Certainly, as an organization we’re going to listen,” Cheveldayoff told reporters, per NHL.com’s Darrin Bauming. “Everyone saw (Hellebuyck’s) press conference at the end of the year; he was passionate. Certainly, in our exit meetings we had some frank conversations as well, but again, what happens in those meetings certainly stays private.”
That’s not exactly a full-throated endorsement of their franchise goalie staying put. But it’s also not a denial.
The Stakes Are High in Winnipeg
Hellebuyck has five years left on his contract at $8.5 million AAV, which runs through 2030-31. He’s still one of the elite goaltenders in the world — he proved that at the Olympics for Team USA — but the Jets have gone from Presidents’ Trophy winners in 2024-25 to missing the playoffs entirely in 2025-26. They’ve only made the Western Conference Final once since Hellebuyck joined the team in 2015.
That kind of drop-off wears on a guy. And Hellebuyck’s frustration was on full display during his end-of-season media availability back in April.
“Complacency is not going to get us moving forward, so something has got to happen,” he said then. “I’m not going to just sit here and throw every guy under the bus because honestly, I’m a goalie and I know goaltending really well. I can’t say, ‘This forward did this and that defense did that.’ That’s not my spot. I believe in every guy in giving their A-plus effort every single night.”
Notice what he didn’t say: that he wants to stay. He talked about needing change, about something needing to happen. That’s not the language of a player ready to run it back.
Hellebuyck has spent his entire career in Manitoba after being drafted in the fifth round in 2012. But if the Jets are going to rebuild — or even retool — trading him would bring back a massive haul. The No. 8 pick in this year’s draft is nice, but it’s not going to fix everything on its own.
The draft kicks off Friday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Whether Hellebuyck is still a Jet by the time the second round rolls around is anyone’s guess.
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