Connor Hellebuyck's future? Backup and tandem options? What's next for Jets in goal

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If Connor Hellebuyck reclaims anything close to Hart Trophy form, returning to Winnipeg at his best, then the Jets have a foundational piece of their roster in place at less than market value. We spend so much time talking about Winnipeg’s strengths and weaknesses as a market. Hellebuyck’s contract represents just 8.2 percent of next season’s salary cap, while Hellebuyck as a player is usually one of the best — and sometimes the best — goaltender in the world. That’s a massive advantage in cap-efficiency, with only Josh Morrissey’s $6.25 million AAV (6.0 percent of the cap) and Scheifele’s matching $8.5 million AAV (also 8.2 percent) coming close. Stanley Cup champions have been built with worse players, making more money relative to the salary cap maximum. If Hellebuyck is happy, the Jets are happy with him, and Winnipeg is capable of adding the missing pieces up front and on defence to satiate his desire to win, then Hellebuyck is the team’s most straightforward path back to contention. All Winnipeg would need to do is re-sign Eric Comrie (or one of several capable No. 2 goaltenders), place their faith in Hellebuyck, and take one more swing at the playoffs. Hellebuyck made it clear in his exit interviews that he’s frustrated with the quality of the current Jets team. He did so after posting the worst save percentage of his career (.895) and missing a month of play for an arthroscopic knee surgery. There’s a perspective from which the alarm bells Hellebuyck sounded by saying, “complacency is not going to get us moving forward,” should be ringing about Hellebuyck’s longevity, too. He turns 33 on May 19 and if time could defeat Carey Price or Henrik Lundqvist, then it’s reasonable to believe it’s coming for the Olympic gold medalist. If Hellebuyck had posted better results or Comrie had played better during Hellebuyck’s absence, this offseason wouldn’t begin on such a downbeat. Better defending in front of him would have helped, too. Hellebuyck followed three years of mixed playoff results by proving he could win the big game at the Olympics, only to fall short of the NHL postseason. The momentum was gone, Hellebuyck was robbed of the chance to prove himself amidst the greater chaos of playoff hockey, and there are legitimate questions about Winnipeg’s goaltending for the first time since Winnipeg signed Steve Mason. What should Winnipeg do? There are several options, but let’s start with the one fans keep bringing up — whether as part of our fan survey or in the comment section. There have been 20 Vezina Trophies awarded in the salary cap era. There’s some overlap, with repeat winners, but the takeaway is clear: It is unusual for a Vezina Trophy winner to be traded. It’s also unusual for the team trading the star goaltender to win the trade. From 2006 to now, Linus Ullmark and Marc-Andre Fleury are the only goaltenders to be traded shortly after a Vezina win. Fleury was traded to Chicago as a 36-year-old cap dump, so we’ll skip him, including 2010 winner Ryan Miller in our discussion instead. Unlike Fleury, who considered skipping Chicago entirely, Miller was still at the height of his powers when Buffalo traded him to St. Louis in 2014. We’ll also ignore Carey Price, who was traded four years after his last NHL game, and Sergei Bobrovsky, who Philadelphia traded prior to his first of two Vezina Trophies. The Flyers thought they were trading their backup goalie, so the return was not commensurate with the career Bobrovsky built afterward. Hellebuyck is a known entity — not a prospect. Finally, we’ll include one of the three times Roberto Luongo was traded. Luongo never won the Vezina Trophy but was well-established as one of the top goaltenders in the NHL when Florida traded him to Vancouver in 2006. To Boston: Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, first-round pick (No. 25) Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy in 2023 but lost the Bruins’ net to Jeremy Swayman during the 2024 playoffs. Boston decided that the younger Swayman was part of its future and the older Ullmark was ready to be traded. Joonas Korpisalo had struggled in Ottawa and was acquired to be Swayman’s backup, at best, or a third option if prospect Brandon Bussi proved to be ready for an NHL job. It’s not a spectacular trade for Boston. Korpisalo has been their No. 2, without ever threatening to take the No. 1 job. Mark Kastelic was a 10-point player with a made-for-Boston penchant for physicality; today, he’s a 22-point version of the same. The late-first round pick turned into an interesting prospect: 6-foot-7 centre, Dean Letourneau, who scored 39 points in 36 games for Boston College last season. Note that Ullmark was traded with one year left on his contract; Hellebuyck has five seasons left in his $8.5 million AAV deal. To St. Louis: Ryan Miller, Steve Ott To Buffalo: Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart, William Carrier, first-round pick (No. 25, 2015), conditional third-round pick (No. 89, 2016) This Miller (and Steve Ott) blockbuster sent a lot of valuable pieces to the Buffalo Sabres, including two draft picks that they used in other trades. If you thought something about the No. 25 pick in 2015 looked familiar, you’re right: Winnipeg acquired that pick, along with Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Joel Armia, and Brendan Lemieux, for Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, and Jason Kasdorf. The Jets used it to select Jack Roslovic. Halak never played a game for Buffalo. The Sabres sent him to Washington (along with a third-round pick) for a quality goaltending prospect in Michael Neuvirth and defenceman Rostislav Klesla, who then left the NHL to play in Czechia. It was all part of a series of moves that put Buffalo in ideal position to draft Connor McDavid No. 1 in 2015, kickstarting a long and fruitful rebuild. (You may recall that this is not how the 2015 lottery or most of the next 10 years worked out for Buffalo.) The assets Buffalo acquired were more useful than what it did with them. Halak, plus a first-round pick, a middle-six forward, a prospect, and a third-round pick was a decent haul for Miller, an all-time American great but a pending UFA. They included a productive pest in Ott to make it happen. To Vancouver: Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek To Florida: Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld, Bryan Allen Luongo never won a Vezina Trophy and would not ultimately win the Stanley Cup (although he did beat Miller for an Olympic gold medal). Luongo was widely recognized as a top NHL goaltender when Florida traded him, along with Lukas Krajicek, to Vancouver for Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld, and Bryan Allen. It was a poor trade from the beginning for Florida but looks worse in hindsight. Bertuzzi was a 31 year old, point-per-game power forward; his back issues would limit him to seven games before Florida moved on from him. Auld was a former Manitoba Moose who was seen as a credible goaltending prospect but not a star; he played 237 NHL games before playing in Europe. Allen was a No. 4/5 defenceman who played parts of five seasons for Florida. Luongo was younger than Hellebuyck is, with more prime seasons ahead of him than behind him. Luongo was dominant in six out of seven seasons for Vancouver, finishing third in the NHL in wins (258) and third among starters in save percentage (.919) during that time span. Hellebuyck turns 33 later this month and is not likely to be the same quality of asset that Luongo was at 27 years old. The formula appears to be “lesser goaltender” + first-round pick + middle tier roster player, but Florida’s unsuccessful gamble at Bertuzzi breaks that mold. If Hellebuyck is Ullmark, then an imagined equivalent could send Hellebuyck to San Jose for Alex Nedeljkovic, Barclay Goodrow, and Edmonton’s 2026 first-round pick. If Hellebuyck is Miller, then an equivalent could send Hellebuyck and Nino Niederreiter to Buffalo for Ukko-Pekka Lukkoonen, the Sabres’ 2026 first-round pick, Jordan Greenway, and defenceman Ryan Johnson. We’ll skip matching the conditional third-round pick because Hellebuyck has a long-term contract that Miller lacked. And if Hellebuyck is Luongo, an equivalent could send Hellebuyck and Haydn Fleury to Florida for Sam Bennett (who has a no-movement clause), Niko Mikkola, and minor league goaltender Kirill Gerasimyuk. It’s the most desirable and unlikely package of the three, given Bennett’s quality and no-movement clause and the price Vancouver paid for the younger Luongo. Fans in the comment sections have suggested Anton Lundell and the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft instead. None of these trade returns gives Winnipeg its next goaltending ace. None of them addresses enough holes elsewhere on the roster to fix all that ails the Jets. That said, if Winnipeg were able to add a second-line centre and a good draft pick, while signing an average UFA goaltender, there’s an argument they’d be better off than they’ll be with a 33-year-old goaltender on a long-term contract. Hellebuyck is good enough to make them regret that, but we’ve seen other teams succeed in similar ways. A retooling Washington traded for Logan Thompson after trading Darcy Kuemper for Pierre-Luc Dubois. A rebuilding Calgary had Dustin Wolf in waiting when they traded Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey, but it’s unlikely that Jets prospects Dom DiVincentiis or Thomas Milic are ready for an NHL workload at this time. Top prospects on other teams to target could include 6-foot-7, 23-year-old Sebastian Cossa, 6-foot-5, 19-year-old Joshua Ravensbergen, or 6-foot-6, 21-year-old Michael Hrabal, but again, that feels like fantasy hockey. The Jets’ most straightforward play is to bring Hellebuyck back, try to build better around him, and sign a backup. Here are 10 options on this summer’s UFA market. If they move Hellebuyck for Lundell or whichever second-line centre du jour is dominating conversation, then the Jets need to sign two goaltenders from that list. We’re not inside Hellebuyck’s mind. Only he knows to what degree he was blowing off steam or trying to light some fires. The Jets’ most likely play is to pitch Hellebuyck on their offseason strategy, work to upgrade their middle six forwards, and then head into the season looking for the potential that comes with a playoff spot. A healthy Hellebuyck, a solid backup, better luck in OT, and a more potent power play would give Winnipeg a puncher’s chance. Would that be enough for Hellebuyck? Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms