Connor Hellebuyck trade: Sabres, Mammoth, Hurricanes lead

Pagnotta and Jeff Marek got into the Hellebuyck saga on the new DFO Insider show, and Pagnotta wasn't vague about where he sees this ending up.

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"It's Buffalo, Utah or Carolina for me that are [in on Hellebuyck]" David Pagnotta on which teams are front runners to acquire Connor Hellebuyck. @JeffMarek | @TheFourthPeriod Presented by @bet365_ca #bet365

"Buffalo, Utah or Carolina for me." That's 3 teams and no hedging, and it lines up with what's been out there for months. TSN has reported that Buffalo talked with Winnipeg back in June, and that Carolina and Utah have been in the mix too. Florida, the other team people kept bringing up, is reportedly out after landing Brady Tkachuk and Jacob Markstrom. The list is also all American teams, and that's on purpose. Pierre LeBrun has reported that Hellebuyck won't waive his no-move clause for any deal that keeps him in Canada, so Edmonton fans can stop drawing up trade machines.

Here's how this got so messy. Hellebuyck went public with his trade request on August 27, ahead of training camps opening September 16, and said he'd actually asked privately months before that. "I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family," he said. He then didn't report to camp, and the Jets suspended him without pay. As of October 1 he was still suspended and set to lose his first game check, and Winnipeg opened the season with Stuart Skinner starting in net vs. Boston.

This isn't some backup asking for more starts. Hellebuyck has won 3 Vezinas, in 2019-20, 2023-24 and 2024-25, and he won the Hart as league MVP in 2024-25, the year the Jets took the Presidents' Trophy. He's in year 3 of a 7-year, $59.5 million deal at $8.5 million a year that runs through 2030-31. Whoever gets him is taking on 5 more seasons of an elite goalie at a price that makes the cap math work.

That's why the price hasn't moved. Kevin Cheveldayoff says the timeline is still "undefined" and that he was warned early this could take a while. He's said he has no intention of selling a goalie this good cheap just to make the problem go away. Winnipeg has all the leverage on paper. Hellebuyck has all of it in practice, since every week he sits makes the Jets' season worse.

Any of Pagnotta's 3 teams would look different the day after a deal. Buffalo has spent a decade looking for a real No. 1 goalie, and Hellebuyck would be the biggest goalie trade in that franchise's history. Carolina has been one big piece away for years, and a Hart Trophy goalie is a big piece. Utah is a young team trying to show it belongs, and adding him would turn it into a real Western contender overnight. Expect the Cup and division odds for whichever team gets him to move fast.

Watch the paychecks. Every game Hellebuyck misses costs him money and costs Winnipeg points, so the pressure on both sides goes up each week. The 3 names are out there now. Somebody just has to meet Cheveldayoff's price.