Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry says his teammates cannot afford to spend the run-up to training camp speculating about Connor Hellebuyck’s trade request, telling reporters after a captain’s practice Tuesday that the matter is not worth the room’s attention.
Lowry’s remarks, reported by NHL.com correspondent Darrin Bauming on Sept. 8, are the most extensive comments yet from inside the Jets’ dressing room since Hellebuyck went public on Aug. 27 with a request he said he had made privately several months earlier. NHL training camps open Sept. 16.
“Obviously the situation is what it is,” Lowry said. “(If) you spend so much time speculating on it you’re going to drive yourself crazy. The situation is going to resolve itself one way or the other, and I think from our perspective we’ve got to focus on getting ourselves ready for camp, getting the team ready and things like that. And as long as he’s a member of the Jets, we’ll treat that situation as such.”
Lowry added that he does not expect the request to fracture the group. “Helle’s a good friend of ours, so it’s not something that we think is going to really impact the room,” he said. “It’s not going to create a big divide. It’s a personal decision that he’s made and one that he thinks is best for his family.”
The Edmonton angle runs through the other end of Winnipeg’s crease. The Jets signed goaltender Stuart Skinner as a free agent on July 1 to a two-year contract worth $7.5 million US, an average annual value of $3.75 million, according to the club’s announcement. Skinner backstopped the Oilers to consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances before Edmonton traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 12, alongside defenceman Brett Kulak and a draft pick, in a deal that brought back goaltender Tristan Jarry and prospect Sam Poulin.
Lowry spoke warmly about the newcomer, crediting Jets goaltending coach Wade Flaherty for the endorsement and noting he had skated with Skinner over the summer. Skinner, Lowry said, was “kind of leading the Oilers to two Stanley Cup Finals” and is “a really proven winner in this league.”
How much of the workload falls to Skinner depends entirely on a file the Jets have not moved. Hellebuyck, 33, is entering the third season of a seven-year, $59.5 million US contract carrying an $8.5 million average annual value that he signed on Oct. 9, 2023. He holds full trade protection.
The numbers frame both the value and the difficulty. Hellebuyck went 23-23-11 with a 2.86 goals-against average and .895 save percentage in 57 games last season, well off the 47-12-3 mark, 2.00 GAA and .925 save percentage that won him the Hart Trophy and a third Vezina in 2024-25. Winnipeg finished 35-35-12, eight points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the Western Conference’s second wild card. Since entering the league in 2015-16, Hellebuyck leads all goaltenders in games played (625), starts (615) and shutouts (45), and ranks second in wins (345) behind Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (363).
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said on June 26 the club was listening to offers but stopped short of confirming a request had been made. Responding to Hellebuyck’s Aug. 27 statement, released through agent Ray Petkau, Cheveldayoff said the organization would “continue to work through the situation in a thoughtful manner” but that there was “no update at this time.” That remains the club’s public position.
Defenceman Dylan DeMelo, a teammate of Hellebuyck’s for seven seasons, described the situation as an unfamiliar one. “I’ve never been a part of something like this; it’s all new to all of us,” DeMelo said. “I think we’re just going to cross that bridge when we get there. We just hope at the end of the day he’s happy.”
For Edmonton, the practical interest is close at hand. Oilersnation reported in August that the Oilers open their pre-season at home against Winnipeg on Sept. 19 before visiting Canada Life Centre on Sept. 22, which means Edmonton could get an early look at both its former starter and the goaltender whose future is unsettled. The Oilers carry their own uncertainty in that position after the club announced that Frederik Andersen will not take part in training camp while he rehabilitates an injury sustained in off-season training.
Edmonton opens the regular season Sept. 29 against the Vancouver Canucks. Winnipeg opens Oct. 2 at home against the Boston Bruins. What is not known, with camps a week away, is whether Hellebuyck will be in a Jets sweater when either of those games is played. No trade has been reported, no destination has been confirmed, and neither the player nor the club has set a deadline.
