Hellebuyck still suspended as Jets await trade offer

Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck remained suspended without pay on Wednesday, more than a month after he asked for a trade, with no deal reported and the team off to a 3-2 start without him.

Updated Oct. 14, 2026.

The Jets suspended the three-time Vezina Trophy winner when he did not report to training camp, according to NHL.com. The 33-year-old said publicly on Aug. 27 that he had asked to be traded earlier in the offseason.

His agent, Ray Petkau, said Hellebuyck’s position has not changed. NHL.com reported that Hellebuyck tried to handle the matter quietly and respectfully, and believes moving on is best for him and his family.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has said the team will not simply give him away. “A contract is a contract in the National Hockey League, period,” Cheveldayoff told reporters, as quoted by The Hockey News and reported by Money.ca. He also said earlier this fall that Hellebuyck is “part of our family until he’s not part of our family.”

Hellebuyck has five seasons left on a seven-year, US$59.5 million contract he signed on Oct. 9, 2023, which carries an average annual value of US$8.5 million. Money.ca reported that his 2026-27 base salary is US$7.5 million, paid over the 194-day regular season, or about US$38,660 a day. Under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, a suspended player is not paid while he stays away, CTV News reported.

A fan-built website, hellebucks.com, created by data storyteller Robson Fletcher, tracks the money in real time. The counter put his losses at as much as US$400,000 as of Oct. 9, and The Hockey News reported on Oct. 12 that the total had passed US$500,000.

The Hockey News also reported that many in the Jets organization may not have appreciated how Hellebuyck has handled his request, and suggested he may not be welcomed back in Winnipeg. The report did not name a source for that claim, and the Jets have not commented on it publicly.

Trade talks have produced little visible movement. The Hockey News reported that the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres and Utah Mammoth are interested, and that the San Jose Sharks are a possible dark horse, a claim attributed to NHL insider Pagnotta. None of those reports has been confirmed by the teams, so the situation remains developing.

Cheveldayoff has said the Jets expect a return that matches Hellebuyck’s value, and has questioned whether future assets would be part of any deal and for how many years. That stance has complicated talks for a player who won the Hart Trophy in 2024-25, when he went 47-12-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage and eight shutouts in 63 games.

The Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy that season but missed the playoffs last year, finishing 35-35-12. Hellebuyck is the franchise leader in wins (345), shutouts (45), save percentage (.916) and goals-against average (2.58) among goalies with at least 100 games.

Winnipeg signed goalie Stuart Skinner to a two-year, US$7.5 million contract on July 1. The Jets have wins over the Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins in their first five games.

Jets forward Kyle Connor has described the situation as heartbreaking for a longtime teammate.

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Sources: NHL.com, The Hockey News via Yahoo Sports, Money.ca.