Insider Elliotte Friedman joined Sportsnet’s Matt Marchese and former L.A. Kings executive Mike Futa on The Fan Hockey Show, where the conversation turned to Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets.
Marchese asked Friedman whether the preference for Winnipeg would be to get a deal done now rather than revisit the situation next summer.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Friedman said the Jets have made it clear they are not interested in a futures-based return, and that any Hellebuyck trade would need to help them remain competitive this season.
“I would say this. I think that Winnipeg has made it very clear that they are also not doing it for futures. They do not want to make their team worse. And any trade they make for Hellebuyck or other trades around it, Winnipeg wants to compete and I think they’ve been very clear about that to other teams in the league. They are not doing this deal for futures. They want a goalie in return to help Skinner and they want to compete. They’re not waving the white towel. The group they have there, even though they had a really tough year last year, they’ve got a really good group of players there. It’s important to them to send a message to those guys that even if Hellebuyck gets traded they’re not waving the white flag on this season. I think you’d have to worry if you were the Jets that if you did make a trade that looked like it was the white flag, who’s next? Right?
“I don’t think they’ll do it unless they feel they can get a deal that helps them. I always say this, that it can change with one phone call, but one of the good things about all these rookie tournaments starting last weekend was that people are getting together, talking. The word around Hellebuyck is that it was quiet on the Hellebuyck front. Now, we’ll see this week, the rumour this summer was that he wasn’t going to show up for training camp. We’ll see where that stands.”
The Jets are scheduled to open training camp later this week, with Hellebuyck’s status continuing to be one of the biggest questions surrounding the club.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login