NHL insider Elliotte Friedman joined the FAN Hockey Show on Sportsnet to weigh in on a potential trade fit between the San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets for Connor Hellebuyck.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
He was asked by Matt Marchese whether the Sharks have kicked tires on Hellebuyck. This is what Friedman had to say:
“I think tires have been kicked between the two teams without knowing who initiated it. I actually think your hypothesis is very good. When I sit here and go through the league and say, ‘Who makes sense?’ San Jose is very high up on that list for me.
The challenge, though, I heard, is first of all: can they make a trade? And secondly, I think Hellebuyck looks at his window to win as the next two to three years. That’s when he’s going to be at his absolute peak, and that’s what he’s looking at. That’s why he put Buffalo on his list, for example.
I just think the question about San Jose is: do you think they can win in that time? And I think with Hellebuyck, they’re much closer. If I was him, I’d take my chances there. But I do understand that was one of the things they were kind of going through.”
As noted in the quote above, Friedman did not specify which club initiated the discussion, but he does see San Jose as one of the more logical potential landing spots for Hellebuyck. The question, as he outlined, is whether the Sharks are far enough along in their rebuild to contend during the 33-year-old netminder’s remaining peak years.
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