Connor Hellebuyck publicly requests trade from Winnipeg Jets
Posted August 27, 2026 2:38 pm.
Last Updated August 27, 2026 4:47 pm.
Connor Hellebuyck is ready to move on from Winnipeg.
The three-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender has publicly submitted a trade request from the Jets, Hellebuyck’s agent Ray Petkau announced on social media Thursday.
According to the note, Hellebuyck had submitted a trade request to the team several months ago, saying that he hoped to handle the situation privately while giving the team time to explore its options.
“With training camp approaching, I felt it was important to publicly confirm my request,” Hellebuyck added. “My position has not changed, and I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family.
“I appreciate everything Winnipeg Jets fans have meant to me throughout my career and hope a resolution can be reached soon.”
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had said before June’s NHL draft that he was listening to offers for Hellebuyck. At the time, he did not confirm that the goaltender had asked to be traded.
In a statement Thursday, the Jets reiterated that there were no updates on the status of trade negotiations.
“Connor has been open with us about his desire for a change. He has been an important part of the Winnipeg Jets organization for many years, and we have tremendous respect for what he has accomplished here,” the Jets said in their statement on social media. “While we continue to work through the situation in a thoughtful manner, there is no update at this time.”
Hellebuyck, 33, has three Vezina Trophies, one Hart Trophy and an Olympic gold medal on his sparkling resume. He has a 345-208-55 record over his 11-year career, and only Andrei Vasilevsky has more wins in that time.
However, playoff success has eluded Hellebuyck and the Jets, with their only trip to the Western Conference Final coming in 2018. The Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2025 but took a big step back last season, dropping from 116 points to 82.
Hellebuyck is entering the third season of a seven-year contract that carries a cap hit of $8.5 million.
‘A game of chicken’
Sportsnet’s Winipeg Jets reporter Sean Reynolds says he’s heard rumblings within the organization that the goaltender may not report to training camp next month if he’s not traded by then. The Jets begin training camp Sept. 17.
“That’s a way of putting on pressure and trying to accelerate that timeline,” Reynolds said. “We’ll see what’s going to happen. The one thing, I’ve said this before, is when you’re dealing with Kevin Cheveldayoff, this is like a game of chicken between him and whatever team that Connor Hellebuyck I believe is eventually going to get traded to, and when you play Kevin Cheveldayoff in a game of chicken, you’re probably going to end up in a ditch.”
Reynolds says another complication to a potential deal: the Jets’ unwillingness to take a package built around picks and prospects.
“The Jets are looking for right-now players, good teams are looking for a good goaltender, and they don’t feel they can lose too many good right-now players from their lineup in order to get that player.
“The Jets are going to trade Hellebuyck on their timeline. Clearly Connor Hellebuyck is trying to accelerate that timeline.”
Hellebuyck drew criticism last season after attending a White House reception hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump following the Americans’ Olympic victory.
Trump announced at the reception that Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The goalie later said he had no regrets about attending but was upset by criticism directed at his wife, Andrea, and other members of his family.
“The blowback that my wife was getting is just not fair,” Hellebuyck said in March. “I don’t understand how she can take so much heat for just being with me as a hockey player. We’ve done nothing wrong, she’s done nothing wrong, my kids have done nothing wrong, and everyone in my family is happy.
“I’m just going to continue living and moving on with my life and let that just fizzle out, because it always will.”
A Michigan native, Hellebuyck joins a growing trend of American superstars asking to be dealt away from Canadian NHL teams. That list includes Matthew Tkachuk going from the Flames to the Panthers in 2022, Quinn Hughes being traded from the Canucks to the Wild last December and, most recently, Brady Tkachuk being moved from the Senators to join his brother in Florida.
–With files from The Canadian Press
